Orie Leon Phillips
American judge (1885–1974)
title: "Orie Leon Phillips" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1885-births", "1974-deaths", "new-mexico-state-senators", "judges-of-the-united-states-district-court-for-the-district-of-new-mexico", "united-states-district-court-judges-appointed-by-warren-g.-harding", "judges-of-the-united-states-court-of-appeals-for-the-tenth-circuit", "united-states-court-of-appeals-judges-appointed-by-herbert-hoover", "university-of-michigan-law-school-alumni", "people-from-mercer-county,-illinois", "20th-century-members-of-the-new-mexico-legislature"] description: "American judge (1885–1974)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orie_Leon_Phillips" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American judge (1885–1974) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox judge"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Orie Leon Phillips |
| image | Orie Leon Phillips.jpg |
| office | Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit |
| term_start | January 1, 1956 |
| term_end | November 14, 1974 |
| office1 | Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit |
| term_start1 | September 1, 1948 |
| term_end1 | January 1, 1956 |
| predecessor1 | Office established |
| successor1 | Sam G. Bratton |
| office2 | Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit |
| term_start2 | April 29, 1929 |
| term_end2 | January 1, 1956 |
| appointer2 | Herbert Hoover |
| predecessor2 | Seat established by 45 Stat. 1346 |
| successor2 | David Thomas Lewis |
| office3 | Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico |
| term_start3 | March 3, 1923 |
| term_end3 | April 29, 1929 |
| appointer3 | Warren G. Harding |
| predecessor3 | Seat established by 42 Stat. 837 |
| successor3 | Seat abolished |
| birth_name | Orie Leon Phillips |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Mercer County, Illinois, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| education | University of Michigan Law School (JD) |
| :: |
| honorific-prefix = | name = Orie Leon Phillips | honorific-suffix = | image = Orie Leon Phillips.jpg | alt = | caption = | office = Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit | term_start = January 1, 1956 | term_end = November 14, 1974 | office1 = Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit | term_start1 = September 1, 1948 | term_end1 = January 1, 1956 | predecessor1 = Office established | successor1 = Sam G. Bratton | office2 = Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit | term_start2 = April 29, 1929 | term_end2 = January 1, 1956 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = Herbert Hoover | predecessor2 = Seat established by 45 Stat. 1346 | successor2 = David Thomas Lewis | office3 = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico | term_start3 = March 3, 1923 | term_end3 = April 29, 1929 | nominator3 = | appointer3 = Warren G. Harding | predecessor3 = Seat established by 42 Stat. 837 | successor3 = Seat abolished | pronunciation = | birth_name = Orie Leon Phillips | birth_date = | birth_place = Mercer County, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | nationality = | party = | otherparty = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | residence = | education = University of Michigan Law School (JD) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = Orie Leon Phillips (November 20, 1885 – November 14, 1974) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Education and career
Born on November 20, 1885, in Mercer County, Illinois, Phillips received a Juris Doctor in 1908 from the University of Michigan Law School. He entered private practice in Raton, New Mexico Territory (State of New Mexico from January 6, 1912) from 1910 to 1923. He was an assistant district attorney in the Eighth Judicial District of New Mexico from 1912 to 1916. He was general attorney of the St. Louis, Rocky Mountain and Pacific Company from 1917 to 1923. He was a member of the New Mexico Senate from 1920 to 1923.
Federal judicial service
Phillips was nominated by President Warren G. Harding on February 28, 1923, to the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, to a new seat authorized by 42 Stat. 837. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 3, 1923, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 29, 1929, due to his elevation to the Tenth Circuit.
Phillips was nominated by President Herbert Hoover on April 18, 1929, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 45 Stat. 1346. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 29, 1929, and received his commission the same day. He was a member of the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges (now the Judicial Conference of the United States) from 1940 to 1948, and a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1948 to 1955. He served as Chief Judge from September 1, 1948 to January 1, 1956, when he assumed senior status. His service terminated on November 14, 1974, due to his death.
Supreme Court consideration
Orie Phillips was considered several times for the Supreme Court without ever being nominated. He had been considered a possibility to replace Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. as Associate Justice when the latter stepped down in 1932, but the choice ultimately went to Benjamin N. Cardozo. With Harry S. Truman desiring to be bipartisan, Phillips was mentioned as a possible Republican replacement for Owen Roberts in 1945, but his complete lack of ties to Truman meant he was rapidly dismissed for that seat, which went to Harold Hitz Burton. Following the death of Harlan Fiske Stone in 1946, Phillips was on Truman's short list to replace him as Chief Justice, but the job ultimately went to Fred Vinson. In 1953 Phillips was considered one of the final six prospects to replace Vinson as Chief Justice but was not chosen due to his age.
References
Sources
References
- "Phillips, Orie Leon - Federal Judicial Center".
- (January 1, 1956). "Judge Bratton Will Succeed Phillips Today". Albuquerque Journal.
- Nemacheck, Christine L.. "Strategic Selection: Presidential Nomination of Supreme Court Justices from Herbert Hoover Through George W. Bush".
- Yalof, David Alistair. (1999). "Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees". [[University of Chicago Press]].
- Nemacheck. "Strategic Selection".
- (12 October 1953). "THE SUPREME COURT: One Law for All".
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