Leo A. Rover (August 15, 1888 - November 11, 1960) was an American attorney, prosecutor, and jurist who served as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1928 to 1934 and from 1953 to 1956, and as the chief judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 1956 until his death in 1960.
Rover was born in Washington, D.C. on August 15, 1888. He attended Gonzaga College High School and St. John's College [1] before studying law at the Georgetown University Law School, receiving a LL.B. He was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar on June 20, 1910. [2]
Rover became an assistant to then-United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Peyton Gordon on September 16, 1924. On January 5, 1929, President Calvin Coolidge nominated Rover to become the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, succeeding Gordon, who had become an associate justice of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. [2] During his term, he prosecuted many nationwide cases, including in the Teapot Dome scandal [1] and the conviction of Gaston Means. [3] He served until 1933, when he entered private practice. While in private practice, he defended Oscar Collazo in his trial concerning the attempted assassination of President Truman. [4]
On March 16, 1953, Rover was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to become the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia again, succeeding Charles M. Irelan, who had resigned. [1] In his second term, Rover led a controversial fight to convict more homosexual people in soliciting and assault cases. [5]
On January 19, 1956, President Eisenhower nominated Rover to become the chief judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, succeeding retiring judge Nathan Cayton. [6]
On November 11, 1960, Rover suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 72 in Washington, D.C.. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. [3]
Charles Evans Whittaker was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1957 to 1962. After working in private practice in Kansas City, Missouri, he was nominated for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Whittaker to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In 1957, he won confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States, thus becoming the first individual to serve as a judge on a federal district court, a federal court of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. During his brief tenure on the Warren Court, Whittaker emerged as a swing vote. In 1962, he had a nervous breakdown and resigned from the Court. After leaving the Supreme Court, he served as chief counsel to General Motors and frequently criticized the Civil Rights Movement and the Warren Court.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Philadelphia as the United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania, and is now located at the James Byrne Courthouse at 601 Market Street in Philadelphia. There are five Eastern District federal courtrooms in Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Lancaster, Allentown, Reading, and Easton.
John Anthony Danaher was a United States senator from Connecticut, and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Dean Park Taylor was an American attorney and politician from Troy, New York. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a United States Congressman for 18 years (1943–1961) and chairman of the New York Republican State Committee (1953–1954).
Ross Rizley was an American politician and United States Representative from Oklahoma and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Elijah Barrett Prettyman was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. His son was American attorney E. Barrett Prettyman Jr.
The United States attorney for the District of Columbia(USADC) is responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has two divisions, the Civil Division and the Criminal Division. The Civil Division is responsible for representing federal agencies in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and in appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Cyrus Nils Tavares was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.
Andrew Wylie was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
Oliver Gasch was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Peyton Gordon was an Associate Justice of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia.
William Bernard Herlands was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Joseph Charles McGarraghy was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Charles Henry Robb was an American lawyer from Vermont and Washington, DC. He was most notable for his service as an Associate Justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Wendell Phillips Stafford was an American attorney and jurist. He was most notable for his service as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
During his two terms in office, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated five members for the Supreme Court of the United States: Chief Justice Earl Warren, and Associate Justices John Marshall Harlan II, William Brennan, Charles Evans Whittaker, and Potter Stewart. All were confirmed by the Senate.
James Randall Durfee was Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board and a judge of the United States Court of Claims.
Sigma Nu Phi (ΣΝΦ), also known as Adelphia Sigma Nu Phi, was a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association.
Austin LeCount Fickling was the first African-American judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest court for the District of Columbia.
Arthur Glenn Froe was an American lawyer and politician. He was appointed by President Warren G. Harding as the Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, and served in this position from 1922 to 1930 during the presidential administrations of Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover.