Judge Edward J. Devitt Papers, 1927-1992

Judge Edward J. Devitt Papers

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Collection Overview

Title: Judge Edward J. Devitt Papers, 1927-1992

ID: OGLMC1253

Primary Creator: Devitt, Edward J. (1911-1992)

Extent: 57.5 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 05/00/1992

Subjects: Legal, University of North Dakota - Alumni

Languages: English

Abstract

1911-1992; Graduate of the UND School of Law, 1935; Ramsey County (MN) Probate Judge 1950-1954, District Court Judge for Minnesota, 1954-1981, Senior Judge status, 1981-1992

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Judge Edward J. Devitt Papers date from 1927-1992 and have been divided into three series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials

Series 2: Criminal Cases

Series 3: Civil Cases

Collection Historical Note

Edward James Devitt, the son of a railroad round-house foreman, was born May 5, 1911 in St. Paul, Minnesota. All four of his grandparents were born in Ireland. He attended St. John's Preparatory School and then St. John's University in Collegeville, MN, after which he earned a Bachelor of Law degree at the University of North Dakota in 1935, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce in 1938. Elected a municipal judge in East Grand Forks, MN in November, 1935, Devitt drew mention in a national "Believe It or Not" syndicated news feature as the youngest judge in the USA. Named an assistant attorney general in Minnesota in 1939, he also taught at the UND Law School.

During the Second World War, Devitt became a US Navy intelligence officer. Lt. Cdr. Devitt was the sole survivor of a kamikaze hit upon the radio compartment of the destroyer Caldwell in December 1944. Recovering after a six month hospital stay, he received a Purple Heart for injuries from this raid.

Elected to the US House of Representatives from St. Paul in 1946 (R, Minn.), Devitt served on the House Judiciary Committee. Defeated for re-election by Eugene McCarthy in 1948, Devitt practiced law in St. Paul until his election as Ramsey County Probate Judge in 1950. In 1954, Devitt was appointed a federal judge on the US District Court for Minnesota. Serving as Chief US District Judge for Minnesota since 1958, Devitt officially retired in 1981, but continued to hear numerous cases as a senior judge. Judge Devitt died March 2, 1992. His funeral, held in the St. Paul Cathedral, was attended by over 1,200 mourners.

During his lengthy tenure on the US District Court, Devitt became probably the most respected and influential district court judge in the nation. His decisions were seldom reversed on appeal. His booklet "Ten Commandments for the New Judge", written in 1961, has become standard reading. Among his most noted innovations was the use of six-person juries in federal civil cases; a practice that has since come to be used in nearly all of the 95 US District Courts nationwide. Judge Devitt is also co-author of Federal Jury Practice and Instructions, the standard reference book on this subject. During the years 1967-1971, Judge Devitt chaired the American Bar Association Legal Advisory Committee on Fair Trial - Free Press, which developed guidelines for news media and the bench in sensational cases so as to avoid prejudicial publicity that would prevent a fair trial.

Judge Devitt repeatedly turned aside opportunities for promotion to appellate courts or to other positions removed from trial law. Dedicated to improving the judicial art, Devitt sought to write decisions and opinions which could be easily understood by those not trained in legal terminology. An active Catholic, Judge Devitt urged his fellow jurists to pray for divine guidance since "judges need that help more than anyone else."

West Publishing, a respected publisher in the field of law, in 1982 inaugurated the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. This annual award, with a prize of $15,000, is given to the nation's foremost federal judge, as determined by a selection panel which frequently includes justices on the US Supreme Court. Judge Devitt served as Permanent Chairman of this selection panel.

Among Judge Devitt's most notable cases were the 1961 racketeering trial of Minneapolis gangster Isadore (Kid Cann) Blumenfeld, the 1963 fraud trial of former Minneapolis mayor Marvin Kline, the trial of the "Minnesota Eight" resisters of the Vietnam era draft, and the Reserve Mining environmental pollution trial of the mid 1970s. Judge Devitt also presided over several major organized crime trials in California and other states.

Subject/Index Terms

Legal
University of North Dakota - Alumni

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: Terese Hoffman, St. Paul, Minnesota

Acquisition Method: Donation; Acc.92-1822 and Acc.92-1823

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Judge Edward J. Devitt Papers. OGLMC 1253, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in March 2015.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Biographical Material],
[Series 2: Criminal Cases],
[Series 3: Civil Cases],
[Photographs :],
[All]

Series 1: Biographical Material

Box 1

Folder 1: Two biographical sketches of Judge Devitt; 1974 Freedom Speaks "American of the Year" article; Southern Methodist University speaker introduction sheet; program from May 11, 1981 Recognition Banquet (two copies); program from January 14, 1987 Portrait Presentation Ceremony (two copies).

Folder 2: Obituaries and related articles as follows:

Item 1: Funeral notice in St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 3, 1992
Item 2: Page one article in St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 3, 1992
Item 3: Page one article in Star Tribune, March 3, 1992
Item 4: Funeral description in St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 6, 1992
Item 5: Funeral description in Star Tribune, March 6, 1992
Item 6: Obituary in St. Paul Area Downtowner, March 4, 1992 (2 copies)
Item 7: Assumption Parish weekly bulletin for week of March 8, 1992
Item 8: Photocopies of obituaries and articles from Catholic Bulletin, Grand Forks Herald and two unidentified sources.

Folder 3: Memorabilia - University of North Dakota School of Law:

Item 1: Commencement calendar, 1934
Item 2: Directory of graduates, 1901-1955
Item 3: Fifty Year Directory of N.D. Chapter of The Order of the Coif

Folder 4: Memorabilia - elective office

Item 1: Pictorial directory of the 80th Congress
Item 2: Campaign flyers: US Congress races in 1946 and 1948; Probate Judgeship re- election campaign in 1952

Folder 5: Memorabilia - US District Court of Minnesota

Item 1: History of the United States District Court of Minnesota, 1976
Item 2: History of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1989
Item 3: "Proceedings of Special Ceremonial Session for Receiving Picture Portraits," 1968
Item 4: Memorial - John E. Kennedy (former law clerk of Judge Devitt)
Item 5: "Insiders' Rules of Procedure" (photocopy of publication by Gregory Stenmoe, a former law clerk of Judge Devitt)

Folder 6: Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award: list of recipients, 1982- 1991; recognition ceremony booklets commemorating 1982 through 1990 recipients

Folder 7: The Sagatagan, 1927 (St. John's yearbook with handwritten personal inscriptions to Edward Devitt)

Folder 8: Scrapbook of newspaper clippings and miscellaneous memorabilia from 1935 to 1940, pasted onto pages of The Sagatagan, 1928. The front half of this yearbook was used as a scrapbook by Edward Devitt for news clippings of 1935-40 concerning East Grand Forks municipal judgeship campaign, patriotic speeches, public functions attended, and press mentions of cases heard in his courtroom. Numerous personal comments to Devitt by classmates of 1928 remain unobscured in the back half of the yearbook.

Folder 9: The Sagatagan, 1929 (St. John's yearbook with handwritten personal inscriptions to Edward Devitt)

Folder 10: The Sagatagan, 1930 (St. John's yearbook without personal inscriptions)

Folder 11: The Dakotah, 1933 (University of North Dakota yearbook - no personal inscriptions)

Folder 12: The Dakotah, 1935 (UND yearbook, signed by Eugene Devitt with May 30, 1935 date but otherwise without inscriptions)

Folder 13: Scrapbook, 1934-35

Folder 14: Loose news clippings, 1934-44. Includes "Strange as it Seems," a syndicated feature by John Hix in style of Ripley's "Believe it or Not," with mention of Devitt's 1934 election as youngest judge in USA.

Folder 15: Loose news clippings and letters from the general public, 1955-56. All relate to the highly publicized Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) labor payoff trial concerning bribery of certain labor union officials by ADM. Devitt was the federal district judge who heard this case.

Folder 16: Loose news clippings, 1958. All relate to the highly publicized murder trial of Mafia figures Rocky Lupino and Johnny Azzone, heard by Devitt.

Folder 17: Loose news clippings, 1973-80.

Box 2

Folder 1: 1967 scrapbook
Folder 2: 1935 certificate to practice before North Dakota Supreme Court (framed)
Folder 3: two university graduation gowns
Folder 4: one university mortarboard cap
Folder 5: UND honorary law degree, 1965 (framed)
Folder 6: 1954 certificate as Director of UND Alumni Association
Folder 7: certificate of appreciation by Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, 1978 (framed)
Folder 8: Hamline University honorary law degree, 1982 (in red presentation case)

Box 3

Folder 1: Westlaw citations of significant cases, with printouts for the following database search criteria:

Item 1: Judge Devitt AND North Dakota
Item 2: Judge Devitt AND Native American or Indian
Item 3: Court of Appeals AND Devitt [all cases appealed from the most recent 200 cases heard by Judge Devitt at the District Court level]
Item 4: Court of Appeals - Devitt sitting by designation [cases heard by Devitt at the appellate level while serving temporarily as an appeals court judge]

Folder 2: American Bar Association Legal Advisory Committee on Fair Trial and Free Press - background materials including 1965 US Senate Subcommittee Hearings transcript "Free Press and Fair Trial" (2 volumes), and book Free Press and Fair Trial. New York: American Newspaper Publishers Assoc., 1967.

Folder 3: American Bar Association Legal Advisory Committee on Fair Trial and Free Press - publications as follows:

Item 1: The Rights of Fair Trial and Free Press: An Information Manual for the Bar, News Media, Law Enforcement Officials and Courts.
Item 2: Chicago: American Bar Association Legal Advisory Committee on Fair Trial and Free Press, 1969.
Item 3: Edward J. Devitt. "Is the Free Press Really in Danger?" Saint John's. Vol. 8, no. 1 (Spring 1968), 16-19. (photocopy)
Item 4: Edward J. Devitt. "The 'Reardon Report': What Happens Next?" The Bulletin of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. No. 533 (August 1969), 11-12. (photocopy)

Folder 4: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: Report and Tentative Recommendations, Sept. 21-22, 1978.
Item 2: Presentation before Fortieth Annual Judicial Conference of the District of Columbia Circuit, May 21-22, 1979.
Item 3: Final Report, Sept. 19-20, 1979.
Item 4: Edward J. Devitt. "Law School Training: Key to Quality Trial Advocacy." American Bar Association Journal. vol. 65 (Dec. 1979), 1800-02. (photocopy)

Folder 5: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: Report of Sept. 22, 1976 meeting in Washington, DC
Item 2: Report of Dec. 9-10, 1976 meeting in San Antonio, TX
Item 3: Report of April 18-19, 1977 meeting in Carmel, CA
Item 4: Report of Aug. 29-30, 1977 meeting in Hilton Head, SC
Item 5: Minutes of Aug. 14-15, 1978 meeting on Mackinac Island, MI

Folder 6: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: General Correspondence, 1976

Folder 7: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: General correspondence, 1977

Folder 8: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: General correspondence, 1978

Folder 9: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: General correspondence, 1979

Folder 10: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: General correspondence, 1980-82

Folder 11: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: Correspondence with Professor James P. White, 1979-81

Folder 12: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: Correspondence concerning Final Report, 1979

Box 4

Folder 1: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: Correspondence concerning Final Report, 1980

Folder 2: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: Correspondence on Federal Court Admission Requirements, 1980

Folder 3: The Devitt Committee, aka Judicial Conference of the United States: Committee to Consider Standards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courts

Item 1: Correspondence on Student Practice Rule, 1980-81

Folder 4: Published Articles by Edward J. Devitt, 1959 and prior

Folder 5: Published Articles by Edward J. Devitt, 1960-69

Folder 6: Published Articles by Edward J. Devitt, 1970-77

Folder 7: Published Articles by Edward J. Devitt, 1978-79

Folder 8: Published Articles by Edward J. Devitt, 1980

Folder 9: Published Articles by Edward J. Devitt, 1981 and subsequent

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Biographical Material],
[Series 2: Criminal Cases],
[Series 3: Civil Cases],
[Photographs :],
[All]

Department of Special Collections
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