{{short description|American judge (1923–2022)}} {{for|the British pentathlete|Alfred Goodwin (pentathlete)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox judge | honorific_prefix = | name = Alfred Goodwin | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | term_start = January 31, 1991 | term_end = December 27, 2022 | office1 = Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | term_start1 = June 15, 1988 | term_end1 = January 31, 1991 | predecessor1 = James R. Browning | successor1 = J. Clifford Wallace | office2 = Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | term_start2 = November 30, 1971 | term_end2 = January 31, 1991 | appointer2 = Richard Nixon | predecessor2 = John Kilkenny | successor2 = Andrew Kleinfeld | office3 = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon | term_start3 = December 11, 1969 | term_end3 = December 17, 1971<!--Termination date per FJC Bio, reflects oath date at Ninth Circuit.--> | appointer3 = Richard Nixon | predecessor3 = John Kilkenny | successor3 = Otto Richard Skopil Jr. | office4 = 72nd Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court | term_start4 = March 8, 1960 | term_end4 = December 19, 1969 | appointer4 = Mark Hatfield | predecessor4 = Hall S. Lusk | successor4 = Thomas Tongue | pronunciation = | birth_name = Alfred Theodore Goodwin | birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|06|29}} | birth_place = Bellingham, Washington, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|12|27|1923|06|29}} | death_place = Happy Valley, Oregon, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | education = University of Oregon (BA, JD) | allegiance = {{flag|United States}} | branch = {{Army|United States|size=23px}} | unit = United States Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General's Corps | service_years = {{ubl|1943–1946 (Army)|1960–1969 (Reserve)}} | rank = {{ubl|Captain (Army)|Lieutenant colonel (Army Reserve)}} | battles = World War II | awards = }}
'''Alfred Theodore Goodwin''' (June 29, 1923 – December 27, 2022) was an American jurist who was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and also a district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Goodwin wrote the majority opinion for the Ninth Circuit in the famous pledge of allegiance case that was decided by the United States Supreme Court as ''Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow''. Goodwin found that the recitation of the Pledge with the words "under God" violated the Establishment Clause, but the Supreme Court reversed his ruling. Goodwin famously wrote, "A profession that we are a nation 'under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation 'under Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion."<ref name="NYT"/>
==Education and career== Born on June 29, 1923, in Bellingham, Washington, Goodwin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947 from the University of Oregon and a Juris Doctor in 1951 from the University of Oregon School of Law. While in college, he served as a captain in the United States Army during World War II. Goodwin worked as an attorney for five years in Eugene, Oregon. He then served in the Oregon state courts, first on the Circuit Court (1955–1960), and then on the Supreme Court of Oregon (1960–1969).<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|883|nid=1381356|name=Alfred Theodore Goodwin<!--(1923–2022)-->}}</ref> Goodwin was appointed March 18, 1960, by Oregon Governor Mark Hatfield to replace the outgoing Hall S. Lusk, who was then appointed to the United States Senate, a position Hatfield would later be elected to in 1966.<ref name=SOS>{{cite web|url=https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/state.aspx|title=Oregon Secretary of State: State Government|website=bluebook.state.or.us}}</ref> Meanwhile, Goodwin was then elected to a full six-year term later in 1960 and won re-election in 1966 before resigning from the Oregon Supreme Court December 19, 1969, to take a federal judicial position.<ref name=SOS/>
==Federal judicial service== Goodwin was nominated to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon by President Richard Nixon on September 22, 1969, to a seat vacated by Judge John Kilkenny. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 10, 1969, and received his commission on December 11, 1969. His service terminated on December 17, 1971, due to his elevation to the Ninth Circuit.<ref name="auto"/>
Goodwin was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Nixon, on November 3, 1971, to a seat vacated by Judge John Kilkenny. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 23, 1971, and received his commission on November 30, 1971. Chief Judge James R. Browning stepped down early while Goodwin remained eligible to succeed him as Chief Judge, and Goodwin served in that position from June 15, 1988, until he assumed senior status on January 31, 1991.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-press/138781173/|title=Chief judge steps down for colleague|work=Victorville Daily Press|date=April 5, 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/great-falls-tribune/138781191/|title=New chief takes over appeals court|work=Greate Falls Tribune|date=June 16, 1988}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>
==Notable cases== Goodwin wrote the majority opinion for the Ninth Circuit in the famous Pledge of Allegiance case that was then decided by the United States Supreme Court as ''Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow''.<ref>''Newdow v. U.S. Congress'', 328 F.3d 466 C.A.9 (2003).</ref> He also is well known for penning the opinion in ''White v. Samsung'', a landmark right of publicity/appropriation case in California in which the host of ''Wheel of Fortune'', Vanna White, successfully sued Samsung for airing a commercial featuring a robot dressed in her likeness and turning letters on a mock ''Wheel of Fortune'' board. See ''White v. Samsung Elecs.'' Am., 971 F.2d 1395 (9th Cir. 1992).
==Personal life and death== Goodwin died on December 27, 2022, at the age of 99.<ref name="NYT">Sandomir, Richard (January 15, 2023). [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/us/alfred-goodwin-dead.html "Alfred T. Goodwin, Judge in Pledge of Allegiance Case, Dies at 99"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved January 15, 2023.</ref> At the time of his death, Goodwin was the oldest federal judge still hearing cases, and the longest-serving current federal judge.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alfred T. Goodwin |url=https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries/happy-valley-or/alfred-goodwin-11082022 |website=Neptune Society |access-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Alfred T. Goodwin (1923–2022) |url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/goodwin-alfred-t/#.Y63uTi-l10s |website=Oregon Encyclopedia |access-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Biography|Law}} * List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{FJC Bio|883|nid=1381356|name=Alfred Theodore Goodwin<!--(1923–)-->}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20021019221237/http://www.law.com/regionals/ca/stories/020701a.shtml Goodwin Isn’t Fazed by Storm Over the Pledge] Law.com * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061114041241/http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/awards/hoa/index.html University of Oregon: Awards] * [http://www.appellate-counsellor.com/profiles/goodwin.htm Appellate Consellor Judges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725030141/http://www.appellate-counsellor.com/profiles/goodwin.htm |date=July 25, 2020 }} * [https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/goodwin-alfred-t/ Alfred T. Goodwin] at the ''Oregon Encyclopedia''
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Hall S. Lusk}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court}}|years=1960–1969}} {{s-aft|after=Thomas Tongue}} {{s-bef|rows=2|before=John Kilkenny}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon}}|years=1969–1971}} {{s-aft|after=Otto Richard Skopil Jr.}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit}}|years=1971–1991}} {{s-aft|after=Andrew Kleinfeld}} {{s-bef|before=James R. Browning}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit}}|years=1988–1991}} {{s-aft|after=J. Clifford Wallace}} {{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Alfred}} Category:1923 births Category:2022 deaths Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon Category:Oregon state court judges Category:Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Richard Nixon Category:United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon Category:University of Oregon School of Law alumni Category:United States Army colonels Category:United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Category:United States Army reservists Category:Military personnel from Bellingham, Washington