Sterry R. Waterman

Sterry Robinson Waterman (June 12, 1901 – February 6, 1984) was a Vermont lawyer and a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Sterry R. Waterman
Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office November 13, 1970 – February 6, 1984
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office July 13, 1955 – November 13, 1970
Appointed by	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Harrie B. Chase
Succeeded by	James L. Oakes
President of the Vermont Law School Board of Trustees
In office 1974–1983
Preceded by	Thomas M. Debevoise
Succeeded by	Hilton Wick
President of the American Judicature Society
In office 1962–1964
Preceded by	Cecil E. Burney
Succeeded by	Henry L. Woolfenden
President of the Vermont Bar Association
In office 1957–1958
Preceded by	Henry F. Black
Succeeded by	Clifton G. Parker
State's Attorney of Caledonia County, Vermont
In office 1933–1937
Preceded by	Oscar L. Shepard
Succeeded by	H. Stanwood Brooks
Personal details
Born	Sterry Robinson Waterman June 12, 1901 Taunton, Massachusetts
Died	February 6, 1984 (aged 82) St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Resting place	Mount Pleasant Cemetery St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Frances Knight (m. 1932-1975, her death)
Children	2
Education	Dartmouth College (AB) Harvard Law School George Washington University Law School Vermont Law School (JD)
Occupation	Attorney

Early life

Waterman was born in Taunton, Massachusetts on June 12, 1901, the son of Zeno Sterry Waterman and Sarah (Robinson) Waterman.[1] He graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy and received his Artium Baccalaureus degree from Dartmouth College in 1922.[2] He attended Harvard Law School and then moved to Washington, D.C. to accept a position with the federal Commissioner of Immigration while continuing his studies at George Washington University Law School.[3][4] He read law and passed the bar exam in 1926 needing to complete one course before graduating.[5] He then ended his studies and began to practice, first in Washington, D.C. and later in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, from 1926 to 1955.[6]

Legal career

Active in Republican politics, he was State's Attorney for Caledonia County, Vermont from 1933 to 1937 and Assistant Secretary of the Vermont Senate from 1933 to 1940.[7] He served as general counsel of the Vermont Unemployment Compensation Commission for four years, a delegate to the 1936 Republican National Convention, a member of the commission to investigate the Vermont Court System from 1935 to 1937, and a member of the Vermont Uniform State Laws Commission from 1938 to 1958.[8][9][10]

In the 1930s and 1940s Waterman was a founder and leader of the Vermont Young Republicans, and was recognized as a leader of the progressive wing of Vermont's Republican party, which included George Aiken and Ernest W. Gibson Jr.[11] (Gibson and Waterman had attended law school together, and Gibson was Secretary of the Vermont Senate when Waterman was Assistant Secretary.)[11] Waterman managed Aiken's successful 1936 campaign for governor,[11] and in 1946 was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate, losing the Republican primary to Ralph E. Flanders,[12] who went on to win the general election.[13] As a member of the Uniform State Laws Commission, during the 1940s and early 1950s, Waterman was an author and promoter of the Uniform Commercial Code, which was adopted in 1952.[14] From 1957 to 1958, Waterman served as president of the Vermont Bar Association.[11] He was president of the American Judicature Society from 1962 to 1964.[11]

Federal judicial service

Waterman was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 13, 1955, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated by Judge Harrie B. Chase. Vermont's Senators, Aiken and Flanders, had initially been willing to recommend Gibson, but Gibson preferred to remain on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont so that he would not have to leave Vermont. They then recommended Waterman, who was opposed by conservative Republicans, which caused Eisenhower to request that they submit another recommendation.[11] Aiken and Flanders persisted until Waterman was confirmed. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 11, 1955, and received his commission on July 13, 1955. He assumed senior status on November 13, 1970, and took inactive senior status in 1983. His service was terminated on February 6, 1984, due to his death.[11][15] Among the law clerks Waterman employed during his judicial career was William B. Gray, who later served as United States Attorney for Vermont.[16]

Notable cases

Once confirmed, Waterman authored or assisted in authoring more than 600 judicial opinions.[15] Waterman's opinions included the one that upheld the prosecution and sentencing of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.[15] He also wrote the opinion that reaffirmed the order for a special New York legislative election in 1965, which the state Court of Appeals had canceled.[15]

Other activities

Waterman was a longtime trustee of both St. Johnsbury Academy[17] and Vermont Law School,[11] and served as president of the board at each institution.[11][18]

Belated law degree

In 1977, Waterman received his Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School, which was conferred after the trustees, faculty and administration agreed that his writings while serving as a judge satisfied the requirements for the course he had not completed before passing the bar exam.[5][19]

Death and burial

Waterman died in St. Johnsbury on February 6, 1984,[15] and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.[20]

Awards and honors

Waterman received several honorary degrees, including: Dartmouth College (LL.D., 1963); Harvard Law School (LL.D., 1969); George Washington University Law School (LL.D., 1969); University of Vermont (LL.D., 1972); and New York University School of Law (LL.D., 1979).[18] His personal and official papers are archived at the University of Vermont.[21] Vermont Law School maintains a scholarship[22] and lecture series[23] in Waterman's name, and the school's Waterman Hall is named for him.[24]

Family

In 1932, Waterman married Frances Knight (1906–1975).[15] They were the parents of two sons, Robert and Thomas.[15]

References

1. Maze, Nancy Chadbourne (1984). The Paul Chadbourn Family of Waterborough, Maine, 1748-1990. Chadbourne Family Association. p. 159.
2. Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. 1981. p. 270.
3. "Sterry Waterman Nominated as Federal Judge". Bennington Banner. May 13, 1955. p. 1.
4. Second Circuit Historical and Commemorative Events Committee (2012). Special Supplement: Colleagues For Justice: One Hundred Years of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. New York, NY: St. John's Law Review. p. 957.
5. The Federal Reporter, Volume 751. Eagan, Minnesota: West Publishing. 1985. p. 104.
6. Waterman, Edgar Francis (1942). The Waterman Family, Volume 2. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Historical Society. p. 541.
7. Duffy, John J.; Hand, Samuel B.; Orth, Ralph H. (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England. p. 313. ISBN 978-1-58465-086-7.
8. Hein, W. S. (1944). Handbook of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and Proceedings of the Annual Conference, Volume 54. Washington, DC: National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. pp. 11, 22.
9. Vermont Legislative Directory. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. 1977. p. 184.
10. Hart, George Luzerne (1936). Official Report of the Proceedings of the Twenty-first Republican National Convention. New York, NY: Tenny Press. pp. 27, 75.
11. The Vermont Encyclopedia, p. 313.
12. Vermont State Archives (June 9, 2006). "Primary Election Results: 1946 Republican Party; U.S. Senator". Vermont Election Archive. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. p. 5.
13. "Biography, Ralph Edward Flanders". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Washington, DC: Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
14. Treaster, Joseph B. (February 9, 1984). "Sterry R. Waterman; U.S. Appeals Judge Served for 28 Years". The New York Times. New York, NY. p. 22.
15. "Sterry R. Waterman; U.S. Appeals Judge Served for 28 Years", p. 22.
16. "Class of 1964 Obituaries: William Barton Gray". HR 1964.org. Cambridge, MA: Harvard-Radcliffe Class of 1964. 1994. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
17. Vermont General Assembly (1983). Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual (1983). Montpelier, VT: Vermont Secretary of State. p. 341.
18. Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual (1983), p. 341.
19. "Vermont Law School Begins its 5th Year". Bennington Banner. September 12, 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 25 April 2015. The president of the board of trustees, Sterry R. Waterman, senior judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, was also awarded the juris doctor degree. Although he had studied at three law schools prior to his long legal career and has several honorary degrees, he had not previously received the law degree.
20. "Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008, Entry for Sterry R. Waterman". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com LLC. February 7, 1984. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
21. Biographical Directory of the Federal Judiciary. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press. 2001. p. 833. ISBN 978-0-89059-258-8.
22. "The Vermont Law School has established a scholarship fund for state residents in honor of Sterry R. Waterman". The Vermont Bar Journal & Law Digest. Vol. 10. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Bar Association. 1984. p. 32.
23. "Waterman Lecture: Tom Powers". Vermontlaw.edu. South Royalton, VT: Vermont Law School. 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2018. Each year, Vermont Law School holds the Sterry R. Waterman Lecture. The series, named in honor of the late senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a former president of the VLS Board of Trustees, highlights the legal issues of the day.
24. "Vermont Law School to Dedicate Waterman Hall in Public Ceremony". Vermontlaw.edu. South Royalton, VT: Vermont Law School. May 9, 2006. Archived from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2018.

External links

• Sterry Robinson Waterman at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Sterry R. Waterman at Find a Grave
• Sterry R. Waterman at The Political Graveyard