John Minor Wisdom

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American judge (1905–1999)

title: "John Minor Wisdom" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1905-births", "1999-deaths", "judges-of-the-united-states-court-of-appeals-for-the-fifth-circuit", "united-states-court-of-appeals-judges-appointed-by-dwight-d.-eisenhower", "presidential-medal-of-freedom-recipients", "lawyers-from-new-orleans", "washington-and-lee-university-alumni", "tulane-university-law-school-alumni", "isidore-newman-school-alumni", "wikipedia-articles-incorporating-text-from-the-biographical-directory-of-federal-judges", "louisiana-democrats", "louisiana-republicans", "tulane-university-law-school-faculty", "20th-century-american-lawyers", "united-states-army-officers"] description: "American judge (1905–1999)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Minor_Wisdom" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American judge (1905–1999) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

FieldValue
nameJohn Minor Wisdom
imageJohnminorwisdom.jpg
officeSenior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
term_startJanuary 15, 1977
term_endMay 15, 1999
office2Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
term_start2June 27, 1957
term_end2January 15, 1977
appointer2Dwight D. Eisenhower
predecessor2Wayne G. Borah
successor2Alvin Benjamin Rubin
birth_nameJohn Minor Wisdom
birth_date
birth_placeNew Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
death_date
death_placeNew Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
partyRepublican
educationWashington and Lee University (BA)
Tulane University (LLB)
website
::

| honorific-prefix = | name = John Minor Wisdom | honorific-suffix = | image = Johnminorwisdom.jpg | alt = | caption = | office = Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | term_start = January 15, 1977 | term_end = May 15, 1999 | office2 = Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | term_start2 = June 27, 1957 | term_end2 = January 15, 1977 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = Dwight D. Eisenhower | predecessor2 = Wayne G. Borah | successor2 = Alvin Benjamin Rubin | pronunciation = | birth_name = John Minor Wisdom | birth_date = | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | nationality = | party = Republican | otherparty = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | residence = | education = Washington and Lee University (BA) Tulane University (LLB) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = John Minor Wisdom (May 17, 1905 – May 15, 1999), one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a Republican from Louisiana, was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during the 1950s and 1960s, when that court became known for a series of crucial decisions that advanced the goals of the Civil Rights Movement. At that time, the Fifth Circuit included not only Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas (its jurisdiction since October 1, 1981), but also Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and the Panama Canal Zone.

Early life and education

Wisdom was born on May 17, 1905, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and graduated from the Isidore Newman School. In 1925, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. In 1929, he received a Bachelor of Laws from Tulane University Law School, graduating first in his class.

Early career

Wisdom was a United States Army lieutenant colonel from 1942 to 1946. He was in private practice of law in New Orleans from 1929 to 1957. He was an adjunct professor of law at Tulane University from 1938 to 1957. As a young man, he was a Democrat, but he left that party in reaction to what he perceived as the corrupt administration of Governor Huey Pierce Long, Jr. As the Republican National Committeeman from Louisiana, Wisdom was instrumental in securing the nomination of Dwight D. Eisenhower at the 1952 Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Wisdom was also credited for helping Eisenhower to win Louisiana in the 1956 general election, the first time Louisiana had voted Republican in 80 years.

Federal judicial service

In what was seen as a reward for his services, Wisdom was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on March 14, 1957, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated by Judge Wayne G. Borah. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 26, 1957, and received his commission the next day. He was a member of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) from its creation in 1968 and was the Panel’s chairman from 1975 until 1978. He served on the Special Court created under the Regional Rail Reorganization Act starting in 1975, becoming Presiding Judge from 1986, when Judge Henry Friendly retired, until 1996 when the Special Court was dissolved. He assumed senior status on January 15, 1977. His service terminated on May 15, 1999, due to his death in New Orleans.

From 1947 to 1972 John Minor Wisdom lived at Brevard-Rice House, 1239 First Street, in New Orleans Garden District.

Honors

President Bill Clinton awarded Wisdom the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993. On May 25, 1994, the Fifth Circuit's headquarters in New Orleans was renamed the John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building.

Legacy

Upon his death, Wisdom left all of his writings, papers, and a variety of other personal effects, to Tulane University Law School, which now displays them in the law school building, Weinmann Hall. He also left a sizable collection of his personal Mardi Gras memorabilia to the University of New Orleans.

Wisdom is one of the subjects of the book Unlikely Heroes by Jack Bass, about the Southern Federal judges who helped implement the desegregation of the South. A full-length biography, Champion of Civil Rights: Judge John Minor Wisdom, was written by Professor Joel William Friedman of Tulane Law School, and was published in January 2009 by Louisiana State University Press.

Wisdom's former law clerks include

Quote

"The Constitution is both color blind and color conscious. To avoid conflict with the equal protection clause, a classification that denies a benefit, causes harm, or imposes a burden must not be based on race. In that sense the Constitution is color blind. But the Constitution is color conscious to prevent discrimination being perpetuated and to undo the effects of past discrimination. The criterion is the relevancy of color to a legitimate government purpose."

: - Wisdom, writing for the majority in U.S. v. Jefferson County Board of Education, 372 F.2d 836 (1966).

References

References

  1. "Wisdom > Early Years".
  2. {{FJC Bio. 2622
  3. Joel William Friedman, [http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1642&context=wlulr "Judge Wisdom and the 1952 Republican National Convention: Ensuring Victory for Eisenhower and a Two-Party System for Louisiana"], ''[[Washington and Lee Law Review]]'', vol. 53, no. 1 (1996).
  4. "Louisiana Presidential Election Voting History".
  5. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111019202810/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809249,00.html "Reward for Wisdom,"] [[Time Magazine]], March 25, 1957
  6. "Tulane University - Alumni Affairs - taa alumni awards distinguished 1989".
  7. "Archived copy".
  8. Tes1ess. (2016-05-16). "Brevard-Rice House – New Orleans, LA".
  9. "Wisdom > Later Years".
  10. "Wisdom > Homepage".
  11. Amsberryaugier, Lora. "Library Guides: MSS 197 - Judge John Minor Wisdom Collection: Summary".
  12. Jack Bass, ''Unlikely Heroes: The Dramatic Story of the Southern Judges of the Fifth Circuit who Translated the Supreme Court's Brown Decision Into a Revolution for Equality'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981), {{ISBN. 0-671-25064-7, {{ISBN. 978-0-671-25064-5.
  13. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0817304916 Amazon.com listing for ''Unlikely Heroes'']
  14. Joel William Friedman, ''Champion of Civil Rights: Judge John Minor Wisdom'' (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2009), {{ISBN. 978-0-8071-3384-2.
  15. [http://www.lsu.edu/lsupress/bookPages/9780807133842.html ''Champion of Civil Rights'' announcement] {{webarchive. link. (2008-04-23 at LSU Press website.)
  16. Brett W. Curry, [http://www.lpbr.net/2009/06/champion-of-civil-rights-judge-john.html Review of ''Champion of Civil Rights: Judge John Minor Wisdom''], ''[[Law and Politics Book Review]]'' vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 366-370 (2009).
  17. Circuit, United States Court of Appeals Fifth. (1966-12-29). "372 F2d 836 United States v. Jefferson County Board of Education".

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1905-births1999-deathsjudges-of-the-united-states-court-of-appeals-for-the-fifth-circuitunited-states-court-of-appeals-judges-appointed-by-dwight-d.-eisenhowerpresidential-medal-of-freedom-recipientslawyers-from-new-orleanswashington-and-lee-university-alumnitulane-university-law-school-alumniisidore-newman-school-alumniwikipedia-articles-incorporating-text-from-the-biographical-directory-of-federal-judgeslouisiana-democratslouisiana-republicanstulane-university-law-school-faculty20th-century-american-lawyersunited-states-army-officers