{{Short description|American judge (born 1948)}} {{pp-blp|small=yes}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Edward Willis Nottingham Jr. | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]] | term_start = 2007 | term_end = 2008 | predecessor = [[Lewis Babcock]] | successor = [[Wiley Young Daniel]] | office1 = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]] | term_start1 = November 27, 1989 | term_end1 = October 29, 2008 | nominator1 = | appointer1 = [[List of federal judges appointed by George H. W. Bush|George H. W. Bush]] | predecessor1 = ''Seat established by 98 Stat. 333'' | successor1 = [[William J. Martínez]] | pronunciation = | birth_name = Edward Willis Nottingham Jr. | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|1|9}} | birth_place = [[Denver, Colorado]], U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = [[Cornell University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br>[[University of Colorado Law School]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]]) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''Edward Willis Nottingham Jr.''' (born January 9, 1948)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j8uE6kRlmfMC&pg=PA454|title=Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments|author=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|edition=November 7, 9, and 15, 1989|year=1990}}</ref> is a former [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]], having served in that office from November 24, 1989, until his resignation on October 21, 2008, after a year of scandal.
==Early life, education, and career== Born in [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]], [[Colorado]],<ref name=fjc>{{cite web|url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/nottingham-edward-willis-jr.|title=Nottingham, Edward Willis, Jr. - Federal Judicial Center|website=www.fjc.gov}}</ref> Nottingham was raised in [[Eagle County, Colorado|Eagle County]], Colorado.<ref name=DPthoughtful/><ref name=RockyMountainNews>{{cite news|last1=Morson|first1=Berny|url=http://rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/22/judge-nottingham-quits-amid-inquiry|title=Judge Nottingham quits amid inquiry|work=Rocky Mountain News|date=October 22, 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023212113/http://rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/22/judge-nottingham-quits-amid-inquiry|archivedate=October 23, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> He received an [[Bachelor of Arts|Artium Baccalaureus]] degree from [[Cornell University]] in 1969, and a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[University of Colorado Law School]] in 1972.<ref name=RockyMountainNews/> Prior to his appointment as a judge, Nottingham was a local coordinator for [[1988 United States presidential election|Bush's 1988 presidential campaign]]. From 1972 to 1973, he was a [[law clerk]] of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado for Chief United States District Judge [[Alfred A. Arraj]]. <ref name=DPthoughtful>{{cite news |last1=Cardona |first1=Felisa |last2=McPhee |first2=Mike|url = http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_10780028 | title=Nottingham: A thoughtful judge and an exacting jurist |work=The Denver Post |date=22 October 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605000246/http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_10780028 | archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> Before becoming a judge, he spent a decade and a half in private practice in [[Grand Junction, Colorado|Grand Junction]], Colorado, interrupted by a two-year stint as an [[Assistant United States Attorney]] for the District of Colorado from 1976 to 1978.<ref name=fjc/><ref name=RockyMountainNews/>
==Federal judicial service== Nottingham was nominated to the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]] by President [[George H. W. Bush]] on October 20, 1989,<ref name="Presidents 1989">Public Papers of the Presidents, White House Press Release, October 20, 1989.</ref> to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333.<ref name=fjc/> After a brief delay brought on by Senate efforts to block some Bush appointees, Nottingham was confirmed on by the [[United States Senate]] on November 21, 1989, and received his commission on November 27, 1989.<ref name=fjc/><ref>"Confirmation Vote Ends Controversy", ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'', November 24, 1989, page 7-A.</ref>
During his nineteen-year tenure, Nottingham oversaw a number of high-profile cases, such as a copyright infringement case involving [[Michael Jackson]],<ref>Peter G. Chronis, "Judge fumes as witnesses for Jackson fail to show," ''[[The Denver Post]]'', February 11, 1994, page B-12.</ref> a ruling barring the State of Colorado from withholding public funds for abortion,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pear|first1=Robert|title=U.S. Judge Bars Colorado Limits On Public Money for Abortions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/07/us/us-judge-bars-colorado-limits-on-public-money-for-abortions.html|work=The New York Times|date=7 May 1994}}</ref> a ruling invalidating a law creating a federal "no-call list" for telemarketers<ref>{{cite news|last1=Liptak|first1=Adam|title=No-Call List: Hard Choices|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/27/business/no-call-list-hard-choices.html|work=The New York Times|date=27 September 2003}}</ref> which was ultimately overturned,<ref>[[David Stout]], "[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E1DE123DF93BA25751C0A9629C8B63 Court Upholds Telemarketing Restrictions]"", ''[[The New York Times]]'' (February 18, 2004).</ref> and the prosecution of former [[Qwest]] CEO [[Joe Nacchio]] for [[insider trading]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Frosch|first1=Dan|title=Ex-Chief at Qwest Found Guilty of Insider Trading|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/technology/20qwest.html|work=The New York Times|date=20 April 2007}}</ref>
Although Nottingham's talent as a jurist was never in serious dispute, the consistency of his work and his judicial temperament were matters of widespread concern. On the one hand, ''The Denver Post'' reported that Nottingham had a reputation for judicial efficiency, and as "one of the best legal minds on the bench".<ref name=DPthoughtful/> He received both notoriety and admiration for dressing down witnesses,<ref name=DPthoughtful/> demanding professionalism from attorneys,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Vuong|first1=Andy|title=Nacchio judge's quick lessons|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2007/03/21/nacchio-judges-quick-lessons/|work=The Denver Post|date=March 21, 2007}}</ref> and punishing lawyers who brought what he judged to be frivolous cases by scheduling them for hearings at 6 AM.<ref>{{cite news|title=Law: Frivolity Punished Here |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/18/magazine/sunday-january-18-1998-law-frivolity-punished-here.html|work=The New York Times|date=18 January 1998}}</ref>
In August 2007, a complaint of [[judicial misconduct]] was filed against him with the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit|Tenth Circuit]] and an investigation started that included two hearings over the course of a year; the complaint concerned allegations that he had spent thousands of dollars at a strip club.<ref>{{cite news|title=Federal judge resigns amid misconduct probe|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27311195|work=MSNBC and Wire Services|date=21 October 2008|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Searcey|first1=Dionne|title=Federal Judge Edward Nottingham Resigns Amid Misconduct Allegations|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/10/21/federal-judge-edward-nottingham-resigns-amid-misconduct-allegations/|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=21 October 2008}}</ref> Over the course of the year, he was also named as a figure in an investigation into a prostitution ring, in which a prostitute said that he had asked her to mislead investigators.<ref name=PostResign>{{cite news|title=District Judge Nottingham resigns, apologizes|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2008/10/21/district-judge-nottingham-resigns-apologizes/|work=The Denver Post|date=October 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Judge issues statement on strip club visits|url=http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070811/NEWS/108110073&parentprofile=search|work=Associated Press via Summit Daily|date=August 11, 2007|language=en|access-date=August 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224013513/http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20070811/NEWS/108110073%26parentprofile%3Dsearch|archive-date=February 24, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> He resigned from the bench on October 21, 2008,<ref name=PostResign/> and the misconduct charges were dismissed, as he was no longer a judge.<ref>{{cite news|title=Colorado judge was accused of patronizing prostitutes|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705259220/Colorado-judge-was-accused-of-patronizing-prostitutes.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327170130/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705259220/Colorado-judge-was-accused-of-patronizing-prostitutes.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 27, 2017|work=Deseret News|date=31 October 2008|language=en}}</ref>
==Private law practice== After leaving the bench, Nottingham opened a private law practice in Colorado.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottinghamlaw-mediation.com/Attorneys/Edward-Nottingham.shtml|title=Edward Nottingham Jr. - Edward W. Nottingham LLC - Denver|website=Edward W. Nottingham LLC}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== *[https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/nottingham-edward-willis-jr. FJC Bio]
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 98 Stat. 333}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]]}}|years=1989–2008}} {{s-aft|after=[[William J. Martínez]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Lewis Babcock]]}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]]}}|years=2007–2008}} {{s-aft|after=[[Wiley Young Daniel]]}} {{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nottingham, Edward}} [[Category:1948 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Assistant United States attorneys]] [[Category:Cornell University alumni]] [[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado]] [[Category:People from Eagle County, Colorado]] [[Category:United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush]] [[Category:Lawyers from Denver]] [[Category:University of Colorado Law School alumni]]