About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

33 A.B.A. J. 769 (1947)
John Biggs, Jr.: Senior Circuit Judge - Third Circuit

handle is hein.journals/abaj33 and id is 795 raw text is: 5 John Biggs, Jr.: Senior Circuit Judge-Third Circuit 0 The subject of our cover portrait and sketch this month, the youngest of the Senior Circuit Judges in point of years, presides over the busy Third Circuit. The States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware constitute this Circuit, but it also has appellate jurisdiction of the District Court of the Virgin Islands. The Circuit contains six districts with nineteen District Judges and six Circuit Judges. To the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit comes much complex litigation in- volving corporate and financial matters, patents, and much of the new federal legislation. Delaware and New Jersey- States which together have created more corporations than any other two States- send up to the Circuit Court for review cases which affect practirally the whole corporate structures and industrial econ- omy of the Nation. The Circuit consists of Harold H. Bur- ton, Circuit Justce; John Biggs, Jr., Dela- ware, Senior Circuit Judge; Albert B. Maris, Pennsylvania; Herbert F. Goodrich, Pennsylvania; Gerald McLaughlin, New Jersey; John J. O'Connell, Pennsylvania; and Harry E. Kolodner, Pennsylvania. The District Judges of the Circuit are: Paul Leahy, Richard S. Rodney, Guy L. Fake, Phillip Forman, William F. Smith, Thomas F. Meaney, Thomas M. Madden, William H. Kirkpatrick, George A. Welch, Guy K. Bard, J. Cullen Ganey, James P. McGronery, Albert L. Watson, John W. Murphy, Frederick V. Follmer, Robert M. Gibson, Nelson McVicar, Wallace S. Gourley, and Herman E. Moore. Retired Circuit Judge in the Circuit is Joseph Buffington, Pennsylvania. E John Biggs, Jr. was born in Wil- mington, Delaware, on October 6, 1895, the son of John arid Rachel Valentine (Massey) Biggs. He was born into the law. His father was At- torney General of Delaware for se-/- eral years, taving taken office on or about April 4, 1887. John Biggs, Sr., was the chairman of the Constitu- tional Convention which framed the 1897 Constitution of Delaware. Benj- amin T. Biggs, father of John Biggs and grandfather of Judge Biggs, was a Governor of Delaware, a Member of Congress from Delaware, and a Major in the Mexican War. Judge Biggs' maternal grandfather was George Valentine Massey, a member of the Delaware Bar who practiced at Dover and who subsequently be- came general counsel for the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company. The Biggs family were in Dela- ware before the Revolutionary War. They have always owned farm lands; the original Biggs farm, just west of Summit Bridge, in New Castle County, is still in the possession of Judge Biggs and his sister. Judge Biggs' preparatory educa- tion was received at the Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He was graduated from Princeton University with the degree of Bachelor of Let- ters. After serving in the Ordnance and Tank Corps during World War I, he entered Harvard Law School and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1922. He then began the practice of law in Wilmington. In 1926 he was ap pointed Referee in Bankruptcy by District Judge Hugh M. Morris, since resigned. Biggs served also as Civil- ian Aide to the Secretary of War for Delaware from 1933 to 1937. Judge Biggs has been a member of our Association since 1928, and is also a member of the Delaware State Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the So- ciety of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the American Legion. Judge Biggs' Early Days at the Delaware Bar The allusion-smart as a Philadel- phia lawyer-has become accepted as an historic truism. But William Clarke Mason, one of the present deans of the Philadelphia Bar and a member of the Board of Governors and House of Delegates of our Asso- ciation, has been reported to have said to a young lawyer: Be careful if you find yourself in litigation where your opponent is one of those boys from Wilmington, Delaware. Such a warning has its foundation in legal history. Many great lawyers of Delaware have graced its court- rooms. Among them are Rodney, Bayard, Bird, Higgins, Wolcott, Hil- les, Gray, and many others. To meet August, 1947 • Vol. 33 769 Sketch of Judge Biggs' Career

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most