# Robert Alexander Inch > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robert_Alexander_Inch > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robert_Alexander_Inch.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Alexander_Inch > Source revision: 1348300564 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American judge (1873–1961)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Robert Alexander Inch | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | caption = | office = [Senior Judge](/source/Senior_status) of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York) | term_start = January 6, 1958 | term_end = January 12, 1961 | office1 = Chief Judge of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York) | term_start1 = 1948 | term_end1 = 1958 | predecessor1 = ''Office established'' | successor1 = [Mortimer W. Byers](/source/Mortimer_W._Byers) | office2 = Judge of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York) | term_start2 = April 28, 1923 | term_end2 = January 6, 1958 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = [Warren G. Harding](/source/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Warren_G._Harding) (recess)
[Calvin Coolidge](/source/List_of_federal_judges_appointed_by_Calvin_Coolidge) (commission) | predecessor2 = [Thomas Chatfield](/source/Thomas_Chatfield) | successor2 = [John R. Bartels](/source/John_R._Bartels) | pronunciation = | birth_name = Robert Alexander Inch | birth_date = {{Birth date|1873|04|03}} | birth_place = [Providence](/source/Providence%2C_Rhode_Island), [Rhode Island](/source/Rhode_Island) | death_date = {{Death date and age|1961|01|12|1873|04|03}} | death_place = [Queens](/source/Queens), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) ([A.B.](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))
[New York Law School](/source/New_York_Law_School) ([LL.B.](/source/Bachelor_of_Laws)) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Robert Alexander Inch''' (April 3, 1873 – January 12, 1961) was a [United States district judge](/source/United_States_federal_judge) of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York) in [Brooklyn](/source/Brooklyn), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) from 1923 to 1961 and its Chief Judge from 1948 to 1958. ==Education and career== Born in [Providence](/source/Providence%2C_Rhode_Island), [Rhode Island](/source/Rhode_Island), Inch obtained an [Artium Baccalaureus](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) degree from [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) in 1895 and then graduated from [New York Law School](/source/New_York_Law_School) in 1897.Articles published in the ''New York Times'' during Inch's lifetime report that he attended New York Law School. These include the contemporaneous report "New York Law School: It Held Its Annual Commencement Exercises in the Lenox Lyceum Last Night", ''New York Times'', June 11, 1897, p. 3, listing Inch as one of that year's graduates. The [Federal Judicial Directory](/source/Federal_Judicial_Directory) previously reported on its web site that Inch attended the [New York University School of Law](/source/New_York_University_School_of_Law), but this has been corrected. After graduation, Inch spent the next 27 years as a [lawyer](/source/lawyer) in private practice in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)).{{cite news|title=Robert A. Inch, 87, Ex-U.S. Judge, Dies - Retired in 1958 as Chief of the Eastern District - Was Named to Bench in '24|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/01/13/118012158.html?pageNumber=29|accessdate=12 September 2016|work=New York Times|date=January 13, 1961|page=29}}{{cite news|title=Judge Inch at 82 is Going Strong - Looks Forward to Building of New Courthouse for the Eastern District|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/04/03/88793245.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTA®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=55|accessdate=12 September 2016|work=New York Times|date=April 3, 1955|page=55}}{{FJC Bio|1144|nid=1382651|name=Robert Alexander Inch}} ==Federal judicial service== Inch received a [recess appointment](/source/recess_appointment) from President [Warren G. Harding](/source/Warren_G._Harding) on April 28, 1923, to a seat on the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York) vacated by Judge [Thomas Chatfield](/source/Thomas_Chatfield). He was nominated to the same position by President [Calvin Coolidge](/source/Calvin_Coolidge) on December 15, 1923. He was confirmed by the [United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) on January 8, 1924, and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1958. He assumed [senior status](/source/senior_status) on January 6, 1958. His service terminated on January 12, 1961, due to his death in [Queens](/source/Queens), New York.{{cite news|title=Inch to Give Up Chief Judgeship - But Jurist, 84, Notifies the President He Will Stay on U.S. Bench in Brooklyn|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/10/26/84978958.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTA®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=23|accessdate=12 September 2016|work=New York Times|date=October 26, 1957|page=23}} ===Notable cases=== As a federal district judge, Inch presided over a full array of civil and criminal matters, ranging from prosecutions under the [Volstead Act](/source/Volstead_Act) during the [Prohibition era](/source/Prohibition_era) to [receivership](/source/receivership) cases during the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) and conspiracy charges against alleged [organized crime](/source/organized_crime) leaders during the 1950s. From 1948 to 1951, Inch presided over the government's case against [Martin James Monti](/source/Martin_James_Monti) for assisting [Germany](/source/Germany) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II), denying Monti's plea to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of [treason](/source/treason) that initially resulted in a 25-year prison sentence.{{cite news|title=Judge Finds Monti Was Not Coerced - Inch Denies an Application to Withdraw Plea of Guilty to Charge of Treason Investigation by Lawyers Radio Broadcasting|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/08/02/88440271.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTA®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=4|accessdate=12 September 2016|work=New York Times|date=August 2, 1951|page=4}} ===Criticism=== Although Inch was reportedly a dedicated and hardworking judge, his decisions were not universally respected. In particular, Judge [Learned Hand](/source/Learned_Hand) of the [United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit](/source/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Second_Circuit), which reviewed Inch's rulings when they were appealed, was consistently critical, frequently referring to Inch in internal court memoranda by derisive names such as "the Inchworm" or "Judge Millimeter."Gerald Gunther, ''Learned Hand: The Man and the Judge'' (New York:Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), pp. 302-03. ==Personal== Off the bench, Inch was known as a lover of [golf](/source/golf), a sport he played avidly for more than 50 years.{{cite news|title=Judge Inch at 80 Waits Party at 90 - Federal Court Jurist Confides He Still Plays Golf, but His Wife Can Beat Him|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1953/04/03/83715495.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTA®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=25|accessdate=12 September 2016|work=New York Times|date=April 3, 1953|page=25}} ==See also== * [List of United States federal judges by longevity of service](/source/List_of_United_States_federal_judges_by_longevity_of_service) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{FJC Bio|1144|nid=1382651|name=Robert Alexander Inch}} {{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=[Thomas Chatfield](/source/Thomas_Chatfield)}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York)}}|years=1923–1958}} {{s-aft|after=[John R. Bartels](/source/John_R._Bartels)}} {{s-bef|before=Office established}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York)}}|years=1948–1958}} {{s-aft|after=[Mortimer W. Byers](/source/Mortimer_W._Byers)}} {{s-end}} {{Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York|state=collapsed}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Inch, Robert Alexander}} Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Category:United States district court judges appointed by Warren G. Harding Category:New York (state) lawyers Category:Princeton University alumni Category:New York Law School alumni Category:Lawyers from Providence, Rhode Island Category:1873 births Category:1961 deaths --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert Alexander Inch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Alexander_Inch) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Alexander_Inch?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.