David Chávez

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = David Chávez

| image =

| predecessor1 = Robert A. Cooper

| predecessor2 = James C. McConvery

| termend2 = 1934

| termstart2 = 1932

| office2 = 34th Mayor of Santa Fe

| termend1 = 1950

| termstart1 = 1947

| successor1 = Thomas H. Roberts

| appointer1 = Harry S. Truman

| birth_date = November 12, 1897

| office1 = Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

| termend = 1968

| termstart = 1960

| office = Judge of the New Mexico Supreme Court

| battles = World War I
World War II

| branch = {{Army|United States}}

| death_place = Las Vegas, New Mexico, U.S.

| death_date = November 3, 1984 (aged 86)

| birth_place = Los Chavez, New Mexico

| relations = Dennis Chávez (brother)

| successor2 = Charles B. Barker

| education = University of New Mexico (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)

}}

David Chávez Jr. (November 12, 1897 – November 3, 1984) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 1947 to 1950, and as a justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court from 1960 to 1968.

Early life and education

Chávez was born in Los Chaves in Valencia County{{cite news |title=Former Chief Justice Chavez is dead |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/alamogordo-daily-news-nov-04-1984-p-40/ |access-date=4 March 2023 |publisher=Alamogordo Daily News |date=November 4, 1984}} and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He served in the United States Army during World War I. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Mexico and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Career

Chávez served as mayor of Santa Fe from 1932 to 1934. From 1936 to 1942 he was a District Judge at the First Judicial District in Santa Fe. Chávez briefly resigned to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II and returned to the bench after the war.[http://www.prd.uscourts.gov/?q=node/197 United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico-David Chávez] He served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps and participated in the prosecution of 40 Dachau concentration camp guards.{{cite web |title=David Chavez, Jr. New Mexican Soldier, Judge, Census Clerk |url=https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/david_chavez_jr.pdf |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=4 March 2023}} The U.S. Army awarded Colonel Chavez a bronze star medal for his service prosecuting Nazi war criminals.{{cite news |title=Col. David Chavez Jr. receives bronze star medal from army |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/farmington-times-hustler-oct-11-1946-p-1/ |access-date=4 March 2023 |publisher=Farmington Times Hustler |date=October 11, 1946}} He was appointed to the judgeship of the Puerto Rico District by President Harry S. Truman and served from 1947 to 1950. He returned to New Mexico in 1950 to run unsuccessfully for Governor. He worked in private practice in Santa Fe until Governor Burroughs appointed him to the New Mexico Supreme Court in 1959. Chávez served on the New Mexico Supreme Court from 1960 until 1968.

Personal life

He was the brother of United States Senator Dennis Chávez. He died in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

References

Guillermo A. Baralt, History of the Federal Court in Puerto Rico: 1899-1999 (2004) (also published in Spanish as Historia del Tribunal Federal de Puerto Rico)

{{succession box | title=Judge, United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico| before=Robert A. Cooper | years=1947–1950 | after=Thomas H. Roberts

}}

{{succession box

|title=Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court

|before=Eugene D. Lujan

|after=Paul Tackett

|years=1960–1968}}

Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

Category:United States Article I federal judges appointed by Harry S. Truman

Category:20th-century American lawyers

Category:20th-century mayors of places in New Mexico

Category:Justices of the New Mexico Supreme Court