William Denman (judge)


William Denman was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Education and career

Born in San Francisco, California, Denman attended Lowell High School, received a Bachelor of Letters degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1894, and a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1897. He entered private practice in San Francisco in 1898, and was an assistant professor and lecturer at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law from 1902 to 1906.

Federal judicial service

On January 10, 1935, Denman was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge William Ball Gilbert. Denman was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 29, 1935, and received his commission on February 1, 1935. He served as Chief Judge and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1948 to 1957, and assumed senior status on July 3, 1957. He continued to serve in that capacity until his death on March 9, 1959.