Vignettes of the Late Chief Judge Willis W. Ritter
| Jurisdiction | United States,Federal |
| Citation | Vol. 7 No. 10 Pg. 12 |
| Pages | 12 |
| Publication year | 1994 |
William T. Thurman, Sr.
In early 1961, based on recommendation of Senator Frank E. Moss, President John F. Kennedy nominated me for the position of United States Attorney for the District of Utah. This was a great honor and I appreciated the recognition by both.
After being confirmed by the United States Senate, I was sworn into office on April 10, 1961 before the late Willis R. Ritter, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Prior to that I regarded the office of Chief Judge with due respect and considerable awe. As time wore on I nearly wore out having to deal with Judge Ritter. However, I managed to retain my respect for the position but found it difficult to have the same feeling towards the Chief Judge himself.
In succeeding years, I experienced increasing disillusionment and disappointment with the manner in which he conducted himself and the business of the Court. I often wondered how it was possible under our system of checks and balances for him to say and do the things he did with no accountability. Although his court orders and decisions were subject to appellate review, there were numerous situations in which his insensitive remarks and conduct towards members of the legal profession and federal government agencies never appeared of record and therefore escaped scrutiny by a higher tribunal.[1]To be sure he was at all times subject to impeachment but such procedure was so cumbersome, time consuming and costly that in over 200 years of our nation's existence very few Federal Judges have met that fate.
All of this aside, it is interesting to consider a number of events that took place centering on Judge Ritter during my years as United States Attorney.
I.
Within a few weeks after I took office, he called me to his chambers and congratulated me upon being appointed and indicated that now it would be possible for the Court and the United States Attorney's Office to cooperate with each other. I soon found out what he meant by "cooperate." He went on to indicate that he needed more space and since my office was just down the hall from his chambers on the same floor, he felt it would be appropriate for the United States Attorney's Office to be vacated in order to satisfy his space demands. He took me on a tour of several different rooms adjacent to his chambers containing files, library and numerous paintings which he said had been given to him by the artists. He was very proud of those art works and rightly so for they were outstanding. After we returned to his chambers he again brought up the subject of space and I told him that I would check with the Department of Justice in Washington. He indicated that it would be well for me to pay more attention to his Court than to the Department. When I discussed his request with the Department, it let me know that I was not to vacate any space to anyone even including Judge Ritter. I informed the Judge of the Department's position and of course he was displeased. I thought it was very strange that he would make the request in the first place inasmuch as he already had the tier of several large adjacent rooms containing all those file cases, books and paintings.
II.
During a first appearance before Judge Ritter to argue a motion, I cited decisions of United State District Courts from other jurisdictions. That was the last time I did that. He gave me to understand that he knew as much as any other district court and that the only rulings that counted with him were those of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court.
III.
On one occasion, I requested my secretary to accompany me to take notes while I addressed the Court. After I had proceeded for a short time he interrupted and inquired what she was doing in the courtroom. I told him she was taking notes to assist me in preparing an order for him to...
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