{{Short description|American judge (1911–1992)}} {{For|the American Jesuit|Edward I. Devitt}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Edward Devitt | image = Edward J. Devitt (US Congressman from Minnesota).jpg | alt = | caption = ''Circa'' 1950. Collections of the U.S. House of Representatives. | office = Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court | term_start = January 11, 1985 | term_end = March 2, 1992 | appointer = Warren Burger | predecessor = Dudley Baldwin Bonsal | successor = Earl H. Carroll | office1 = Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota | term_start1 = May 1, 1981 | term_end1 = March 2, 1992 | office2 = Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota | term_start2= 1959 | term_end2 = 1981 | predecessor2 = Gunnar Nordbye | successor2 = Miles Lord | office3 = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota | term_start3 = December 10, 1954 | term_end3 = May 1, 1981 | appointer3 = Dwight D. Eisenhower | predecessor3 = Matthew M. Joyce | successor3 = Paul A. Magnuson | state4 = Minnesota | district4 = {{ushr|Minnesota|4|4th}} | term_start4 = January 3, 1947 | term_end4 = January 3, 1949 | predecessor4 = Frank Starkey | successor4 = Eugene McCarthy | birth_name = Edward James Devitt | birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|05|05}} | birth_place = Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1992|03|02|1911|05|05}} | death_place = Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | resting_place = Resurrection Cemetery, Mendota Heights, Minnesota | party = Republican | spouse = | relations = | children = | education = {{nowrap|University of North Dakota (B.S.)}}<br>University of North Dakota School of Law (LL.B.) | profession = Attorney }}
'''Edward James Devitt''' (May 5, 1911 – March 2, 1992) was a U.S. representative from Minnesota and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
==Education and career==
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Devitt graduated from Saint John's Preparatory School in Collegeville in 1930. He attended Saint John's University from 1930 to 1932 before receiving a Bachelor of Laws from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1935, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Dakota in 1938. Devitt was in private practice in East Grand Forks from 1935 to 1939, serving at the same time as a municipal judge of the Minnesota Municipal Court in East Grand Forks. He was an assistant state attorney general of Minnesota from 1939 to 1942. He served in the United States Naval Reserve during World War II as a Lieutenant Commander from 1942 to 1946.<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|608|nid=1379996|name=Edward James Devitt<!--(1911–1992)-->}}</ref>
==Congressional service==
Devitt was elected as a Republican to the 80th Congress (January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949) from Minnesota's 4th congressional district, defeating the DFL incumbent. He was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection in 1948, being defeated by Eugene McCarthy, who would later serve as a U.S. Senator and run for president. Devitt is the most recent Republican to have represented this district. In the House he sponsored a statute affecting tariffs on firewood, and he successfully amended the Marshall Plan to subsidize private relief shipments.<ref name="Kemple">{{cite book |last=Kemple |first=Arlon |date=2026 |title=Had Enough? The Congressional Class of 1946, the Continuity of Policy, and the Transience of Public Office |page=309 |url=https://arlonkemple.com}}</ref> Following his departure from Congress, he returned to private practice in Saint Paul from 1949 to 1950. He then served as a Judge of the Minnesota Probate Court for Ramsey County from 1950 to 1954.<ref>{{CongBio|D000280|inline=yes}}</ref>
==Federal judicial service==
On December 10, 1954, Devitt received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota vacated by Judge Matthew M. Joyce. Formally nominated to the same seat by President Eisenhower on January 10, 1955, Devitt was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 4, 1955, and received his commission on February 7, 1955. He served as Chief Judge from 1959 to 1981, assuming senior status on May 1, 1981. In 1979, Devitt presided over the criminal trial for the five Red Lake Indian Reservation uprising defendants, imposing a 26-year prison sentence on uprising leader Harry S. Hanson Jr.<ref name=1979uprising>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/24/archives/leader-of-reservation-takeover-gets-26-years-4-more-sentenced.html|title=Leader of Reservation Takeover Gets 26 Years|agency=Associated Press|work=New York Times|date=July 24, 1979|access-date=December 18, 2020}}</ref> Devitt would also impose prison sentences ranging from 10 to 16 years against Hanson's four co-defendants.<ref name=1979uprising /> He served as a board member of the Federal Judicial Center from 1968 to 1971. He served as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 1985 to 1992. Devitt remained in senior status until his death in Saint Paul on March 2, 1992.<ref name="auto"/>
==Legacy==
Devit was co-author of ''Federal Jury Practice and Instructions,'' a standard reference.<ref>{{cite archive |collection=Edward J. Devitt Papers: 1927-1992 |repository=Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library |institution=University of North Dakota |location=Grand Forks}}</ref> The American Judicature Society has awarded the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award each year since 1983 to an Article III judge.{{Citation needed|date=November 2018}} The first recipient was Albert Branson Maris.{{Citation needed|date=November 2018}}
==See also== *Edward J. Devitt U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Fergus Falls, Minnesota
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{CongBio|D000280}} * {{FJC Bio|608|nid=1379996|name=Edward James Devitt<!--(1911–1992)-->}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120206022144/http://www.ajs.org/ajs/awards/ajs_awards-home.asp#EDWARD%20J.%20DEVITT%20DISTINGUISHED%20SERVICE%20%20TO%20JUSTICE%20AWARD American Judicature Society awards page]
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{s-bef|before=Frank Starkey}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|United States Representative from Minnesota's 4th congressional district}}|years=1947–1949}} {{s-aft|after=Eugene McCarthy}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Matthew M. Joyce}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota}}|years=1955–1981}} {{s-aft|after=Paul A. Magnuson}} {{s-bef|before=Gunnar Nordbye}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota}}|years=1959–1981}} {{s-aft|after=Miles Lord}} {{s-bef|before=Dudley Baldwin Bonsal}} {{s-ttl|title=Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court|years=1985–1992}} {{s-aft|after=Earl H. Carroll}} {{s-end}}
{{MNRepresentatives}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 80th United States Congresses |state=Minnesota}} {{USCongRep/MN/80}} {{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devitt, Edward}} Category:1911 births Category:1992 deaths Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota Category:Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Category:Lawyers from Saint Paul, Minnesota Category:Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota Category:Military personnel from Minnesota Category:Minnesota lawyers Category:Minnesota state court judges Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Minnesota Category:United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower Category:United States Navy officers Category:University of North Dakota alumni Category:20th-century United States representatives