{{Short description|American judge}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Bolitha James Laws | honorific_suffix = | image = Photograph of President Truman at the swearing-in ceremony for members of the President's Commission on Internal... - NARA - 200270 (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = | office = Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | term_start = 1948 | term_end = 1958 | predecessor = ''Office established'' | successor = F. Dickinson Letts | office1 = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | term_start1 = September 1, 1948 | term_end1 = November 14, 1958 | nominator1 = | appointer1 = operation of law | predecessor1 = ''Seat established by 62 Stat. 869'' | successor1 = Leonard Patrick Walsh | office2 = Chief Justice of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia | term_start2 = February 23, 1945 | term_end2 = September 1, 1948 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = Franklin D. Roosevelt | predecessor2 = Edward C. Eicher | successor2 = ''Seat abolished'' | office3 = Associate Justice of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia | term_start3 = June 24, 1938 | term_end3 = February 23, 1945 | nominator3 = | appointer3 = Franklin D. Roosevelt | predecessor3 = ''Seat established by 52 Stat. 584'' | successor3 = Alexander Holtzoff | pronunciation = | birth_name = Bolitha James Laws | birth_date = {{Birth date|1891|08|22}} | birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1958|11|14|1891|08|22}} | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = Georgetown Law (LL.B., LL.M.) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''Bolitha James Laws''' (August 22, 1891 – November 14, 1958) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
==Education and career==
Born in Washington, D.C., Laws received a Bachelor of Laws from Georgetown Law in 1913, and a Master of Laws from the same institution in 1914. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1914 to 1920. He was in private practice in New York City, New York from 1920 to 1921, and was a litigation counsel and assistant general counsel to the United States Shipping Board's Emergency Fleet Corporation from 1921 to 1922. He then returned to private practice in Washington, D.C., from 1922 to 1938.<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|1354|nid=1383691|name=Bolitha James Laws<!--(1891–1958)-->}}</ref>
==Federal judicial service== Laws was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 10, 1938, to the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, to a new Associate Justice seat authorized by 52 Stat. 584. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 16, 1938, and received his commission on June 24, 1938. He served as a Judge of the Emergency Court of Appeals from 1943 to 1958. His service terminated on February 23, 1945, due to his elevation to Chief Justice of the same court.<ref name="auto"/>
Laws was nominated by President Roosevelt on January 19, 1945, to the Chief Justice seat on the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia vacated by Chief Justice Edward C. Eicher. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 22, 1945, and received his commission on February 23, 1945. Laws was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on September 1, 1948, to a new judge seat authorized by 62 Stat. 869. He served as Chief Justice from 1948 until his death on November 14, 1958, and was also a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States during that year.<ref name="auto"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * {{FJC Bio|1354|nid=1383691|name=Bolitha James Laws<!--(1891–1958)-->}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 52 Stat. 584}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Associate Justice of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia}}|years=1938–1945}} {{s-aft|after=Alexander Holtzoff}} {{s-bef|before=Edward C. Eicher}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Justice of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia}}|years=1945–1948}} {{s-aft|after=Seat abolished}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 62 Stat. 869}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia}}|years=1948–1958}} {{s-aft|after=Leonard Patrick Walsh}} {{s-bef|before=Office established}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia}}|years=1948–1958}} {{s-aft|after=F. Dickinson Letts}} {{s-end}}
== External links == * {{LittleSisPerson}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laws, Bolitha James}} Category:1891 births Category:1958 deaths Category:Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Category:Lawyers from New York City Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Category:United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:Assistant United States attorneys