Leland Clure Morton

Leland Clure Morton
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
In office July 31, 1984 – April 11, 1998
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
In office 1977–1984
Preceded by	Frank Gray Jr.
Succeeded by	Thomas A. Wiseman Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
In office October 14, 1970 – July 31, 1984
Appointed by	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	William Ernest Miller
Succeeded by	Thomas Aquinas Higgins
Personal details
Born	(1916-02-20)February 20, 1916 Knoxville, Tennessee
Died	April 11, 1998(1998-04-11) (aged 82) Knoxville, Tennessee
Education	University of Tennessee (B.A.) University of Tennessee College of Law (J.D.)

Leland Clure Morton (February 20, 1916 – April 11, 1998) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Education and career

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Morton received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee in 1934 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1936. He was in private practice in Knoxville from 1937 to 1941. He was an FBI special agent in Washington, D.C., from 1941 to 1945, thereafter returning to private practice in Knoxville, from 1946 to 1970.

Federal judicial service

On September 21, 1970, Morton was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee vacated by Judge William Ernest Miller. Morton was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 8, 1970, and received his commission on October 14, 1970. He served as Chief Judge from 1977 to 1984, assuming senior status on July 31, 1984, and serving in that capacity until his death, on April 11, 1998, in Knoxville.

Honor

In 1996, the L. Clure Morton United States Post Office and Courthouse in Cookeville, Tennessee, was renamed in his honor.{congress.gov}

Sources

• Leland Clure Morton at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.