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Peirson Mitchell Hall

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American judge
Peirson Mitchell Hall
Hall in 1932Hall in 1929
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office
September 30, 1968 – December 8, 1979
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office
September 18, 1966 – September 30, 1968
Appointed byoperation of law
Preceded bySeat established by 80 Stat. 75
Succeeded byDavid W. Williams
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
In office
1959–1964
Preceded byBenjamin Harrison
Succeeded byWilliam Carey Mathes
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
In office
July 3, 1942 – September 18, 1966
Appointed byFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byGeorge Cosgrave
Succeeded bySeat abolished
Member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 11th district
In office
July 1, 1925 – June 30, 1929
Preceded byDistrict established
Succeeded byJ. C. Barthel
Personal details
BornPeirson Mitchell Hall
(1894-07-31)July 31, 1894
Armour, South Dakota
DiedDecember 8, 1979(1979-12-08) (aged 85)
EducationUSC Gould School of Law
read law

Peirson Mitchell Hall (July 31, 1894 – December 8, 1979) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Education and career

Born on July 31, 1894, in Armour, South Dakota, Hall attended two years of high school in Tecumseh, Nebraska. He lived in a Nebraska orphanage for a period of time before moving to Los Angeles to study law. He took a one-year course at Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles. He attended the USC Gould School of Law, then read law in 1916. He entered private practice in Los Angeles, California from 1916 to 1925. He was a city councilman for Los Angeles from 1925 to 1929. In 1929, Hall ran for election as Los Angeles city attorney but lost to Erwin P. Werner in the June final, 152,566 to 82,444. He returned to private practice in Los Angeles from 1929 to 1934. He was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1934 to 1937. He resumed private practice in Los Angeles from 1937 to 1939. He was a Judge of the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles from 1939 to 1942. He was head of the Selective Service System for Southern California in 1941.

City Council service

Hall was elected to the Los Angeles City Council to represent District 11 in 1925 and was reelected in 1927. Hall, along with Clifford W. Henderson and Henry G. Bakes, "persuaded the city to lease a 640-acre bean and barley patch then known as Mines Field," which became the Los Angeles International Airport.

Federal judicial service

Hall was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 17, 1942, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California vacated by Judge George Cosgrave. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 1942, and received his commission on July 3, 1942. He served as Chief Judge from 1959 to 1964. Hall was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Central District of California on September 18, 1966, to a new seat authorized by 80 Stat. 75. He assumed senior status on September 30, 1968. His service terminated on December 8, 1979, due to his death.

Notable cases

  • Trial of an army officer charged with stealing $106,000 in Japanese gold missing since the surrender of Formosa (Taiwan) to U.S. forces at the end of World War II.
  • Jailing of 10 people for refusal to answer questions in a grand jury proceeding about Los Angeles Communist leaders and organizations.
  • Freeing of war crimes suspect Andrija Artukovic, former interior minister in Croatia, when Hall ruled that no extradition treaty existed between the United States and Yugoslavia, which had sought Artukovic for trial.

Aviation law

Hall was considered the foremost authority of aviation law among the nation's 500 federal judges.

Personal

Hall was married five times. He and his first wife were divorced in 1929, and Hall sued journalist Fred H. Girnau for libel when Girnau printed a two-column article asserting that testimony at the divorce proceedings showed that Hall "used the pretty face of his wife for a punching bag." Hall's attorney declared the statement untrue and Mrs. Hall said the report was false and malicious. The longest marriage was to Gertrude May Engel, beginning in 1930. They had two daughters, Mary and Suzanne, and were divorced in 1956 after court battles that lasted several years. She died in 1964. His fourth wife was Kathryn Kyle Black, whom he married in Kansas City, Kansas, in November 1956. She died in 1970. Next he married Mari Bahn, who died in February 1973.

Memberships and death

Hall, who had been a Mason and an Elk, died on December 8, 1979.

Note

References

  1. ^ Peirson Mitchell Hall at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ "Los Angeles Public Library file" (PDF).
  3. "WHO'S WHO IN COUNCIL RACE: Total of 112 Candidates Appear on Ballot Voters in Each District to Mark for One Only Two Highest in Primary to be Nominees". Los Angeles Times. 3 May 1925. p. A1. ProQuest 161759966.
  4. Folkart, Burt A (28 March 1984). "Pioneer of L.A.'s Aviation Age Dies: Clifford W. Henderson Also Helped Develop Palm Desert". Los Angeles Times. p. e11. ProQuest 153772460.
  5. "JAP GOLD LOOTING CASE OPENS IN FEDERAL COURT". Los Angeles Times. 13 November 1947. p. 9. ProQuest 165797327.
  6. "Judge Denies Pleas in Red Case Jailing: Move to Set Aside Sentence for Contempt Turned Down". Los Angeles Times. 29 October 1948. p. A1. ProQuest 165853782.
  7. "Red Contempt Case Calls U.S. Attorney: Carter Summoned as Witness in Surprise Move by Defense". Los Angeles Times. 5 November 1948. p. 2. ProQuest 165888043.
  8. "ARTUKOVIC OUSTER BALKED BY COURT: Judge Holds U.S. Has No Treaty With Yugoslavia to Cover Extradition Plea". Los Angeles Times. 15 July 1952. p. A1. ProQuest 166369845.
  9. "LIBEL CHARGED TO CAMPAIGNER: Warrant Drawn for Editor of Political Sheet Story Accuses Pierson Hall of Wife-Beating Formrer Mate of Councilman in Heated Denial". Los Angeles Times. 1 June 1929. p. A3. ProQuest 162297613.
  10. "Judge Peirson M. Hall's Wife Granted Divorce". Los Angeles Times. 22 May 1952. p. 26. ProQuest 166360543.
  11. "Hall v. Hall - 42 Cal.2d 435 - Thu, 03/04/1954 - California Supreme Court Resources". scocal.stanford.edu.
  12. "Judge Hall's Ex-Wife Dies; Suspect Held". Los Angeles Times. 2 November 1964. p. 2. ProQuest 155044388.
  13. "Obituary". Los Angeles Times. 25 February 1973. p. b6. ProQuest 157239724.

Further reading

Political offices
Preceded byPredecessor missing Los Angeles City Council 11th District
1925–1929 		Succeeded byJ.C. Barthel
Legal offices
Preceded byGeorge Cosgrave Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
1942–1966 		Succeeded bySeat abolished
Preceded byBenjamin Harrison Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
1959–1964 		Succeeded byWilliam Carey Mathes
Preceded bySeat established by 80 Stat. 75 Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
1966–1968 		Succeeded byDavid W. Williams
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