Albert Lee Stephens Jr.
{{short description|United States federal judge}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Albert Lee Stephens Jr.
| honorific-suffix =
| image =Albert Lee Stephens Jr., 1935.jpg
| alt =
| caption =Stephens in 1935
| office = Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
| term_start = June 1, 1979
| term_end = September 6, 2001
| office1 = Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
| term_start1 = 1970
| term_end1 = 1979
| predecessor1 = Thurmond Clarke
| successor1 = Irving Hill
| office2 = Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
| term_start2 = September 18, 1966
| term_end2 = June 1, 1979
| nominator2 =
| appointer2 = operation of law
| predecessor2 = Seat established by 80 Stat. 75
| successor2 = David Vreeland Kenyon
| office3 = Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
| term_start3 = September 18, 1961
| term_end3 = September 18, 1966
| nominator3 =
| appointer3 = John F. Kennedy
| predecessor3 = Benjamin Harrison
| successor3 = Seat abolished
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Albert Lee Stephens Jr.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|02|19}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|09|06|1913|02|19}}
| death_place = Mammoth Lakes, California
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| mother =
| father = Albert Lee Stephens Sr.
| relatives =
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| education = University of Southern California (A.B.)
{{nowrap|USC Gould School of Law (LL.B.)}}
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Albert Lee Stephens Jr. (February 19, 1913 – September 6, 2001) 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 February 19, 1913, in Los Angeles, California, the son of United States Circuit Judge Albert Lee Stephens Sr. and brother of California Court of Appeal Associate Justice Clarke E. Stephens,{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-sep-19-me-47300-story.html|title=Albert Stephens Jr., 88; Federal Judge, Courtroom Innovator|first=DENNIS|last=McLELLAN|date=19 September 2001|publisher=|via=LA Times}} Stephens received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1936 from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Laws in 1938 from the USC Gould School of Law. He entered private practice in Los Angeles from 1939 to 1943. He was a United States Naval Reserve lieutenant from 1943 to 1946. He returned to private practice in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1959. He was appointed by Governor Pat Brown as Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, serving from 1959 to 1961.{{FJC Bio|2283|nid=1388291|name=Albert Lee Stephens Jr.}}
Federal judicial service
Stephens was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on August 28, 1961, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California vacated by Judge Benjamin Harrison. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 8, 1961, and received his commission on September 18, 1961. He 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 served as Chief Judge from 1970 to 1979. He assumed senior status on June 1, 1979. His service terminated on September 6, 2001, due to his death of heart failure in Mammoth Lakes, California, while on a fishing trip with former clerk and other friends.
=Notable cases=
Stephens supervised the large number of cases that arose from the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill.
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- {{FJC Bio|2283|nid=1388291|name=Albert Lee Stephens Jr.}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-sep-19-me-47300-story.html|title=Albert Stephens Jr., 88; Federal Judge, Courtroom Innovator|first=DENNIS|last=McLELLAN|date=19 September 2001|publisher=|via=LA Times}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=Benjamin Harrison}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California}}|years=1961–1966}}
{{s-aft|after=Seat abolished}}
{{s-bef|before=Seat established by 80 Stat. 75}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California}}|years=1966–1979}}
{{s-aft|after=David Vreeland Kenyon}}
{{s-bef|before=Thurmond Clarke}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California}}|years=1970–1979}}
{{s-aft|after=Irving Hill}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Albert Lee Jr.}}
Category:California state court judges
Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Category:United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:Lawyers from Los Angeles
Category:United States Navy officers
Category:University of Southern California alumni
Category:USC Gould School of Law alumni
{{US-federal-judge-stub}}