Jack Edward Tanner

Jack Edward Tanner
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
In office January 28, 1991 – January 10, 2006
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
In office May 19, 1978 – November 8, 1978
Appointed by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	William Nelson Goodwin
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
In office May 19, 1978 – January 28, 1991
Appointed by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	William Nelson Goodwin
Succeeded by	Frank Burgess
Personal details
Born	Jack Edward Tanner (1919-01-28)January 28, 1919 Tacoma, Washington, US
Died	January 10, 2006(2006-01-10) (aged 86) Tacoma, Washington, US
Education	University of Washington (LLB)

Jack Edward Tanner (January 28, 1919 – January 10, 2006) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington and the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Education and career

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Tanner was in the United States Army during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. He worked as a longshoreman in Tacoma until his graduation from law school. He received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Washington School of Law in 1955. He was in private practice in Tacoma from 1955 to 1978. He was a regional leader of the NAACP from 1957 to 1965.

Federal judicial service

On January 20, 1978, Tanner was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a joint seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington and the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, vacated by Judge William Nelson Goodwin. Tanner was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 17, 1978, and received his commission on May 19, 1978, becoming the first black federal judge in the northwest United States. On November 8, 1978, Tanner was reassigned to the Western District alone. He assumed senior status on January 28, 1991, serving in that capacity until his death of pancreatic cancer, on January 10, 2006, in Tacoma.

See also

• List of African-American federal judges
• List of African-American jurists
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in West Virginia

Sources

• Jack Edward Tanner at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.