Judge Joseph Sneed Dies at 87; Respected Conservative on Liberal 9th Circuit
Services will be held tomorrow in San Francisco for a longtime federal judge and former dean of Duke University School of Law who served for more than 20 years as a respected conservative voice on the liberal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Joseph Sneed, who took senior status in 1987 but continued to hear cases until the mid-1990s, died Saturday at his home at age 87, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to decades spent as a tax law academic and appellate judge, the native Texan also rode the range as a cowboy on an uncle’s ranch for three summers when he was a teenager and served as the number-two official in the U.S. Department of Justice after being appointed to the post by President Richard M. Nixon.
A respected colleague on the 9th Circuit despite his differing political views, Sneed is recalled by Judge Dorothy Nelson, who was appointed in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter, as a warm and welcoming presence at a time when women were often on the outskirts. Before either was on the 9th Circuit, both were present at a law deans meeting in New York, shortly after Nelson had just been appointed to head the University of Southern California’s law school. The two had previously taught at the same time at Stanford Law School.
“When I came into the room, there was not a friendly face in sight,” Nelson recounts. “Then Joe Sneed, whom I had known at Stanford, not only talked to me but sat next to me, and that night, with another dean, showed me the town. Joe showed me that I was acceptable and welcome, and I’ve never forgotten it.”
For more details of Sneed’s life and information about the Feb. 15 services, read the full Chronicle story.
