John Godbold

Nonpartisan

Prior offices:

United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit

Years in office: 1987 - 2009

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Years in office: 1981 - 1987

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United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

Years in office: 1966 - 1981

Education

Bachelor's

Auburn University, 1940

Law

Harvard Law, 1948

Personal

Birthplace

Alabama

John Cooper Godbold (1920-2009) is a formerFederal Appeals judge with theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Godbold was serving onsenior status when he died onDecember 22, 2009.^[1]

Early life and education

A native of Alabama, Godbold graduated from Auburn University with his bachelor's degree in 1940 before graduating from Harvard Law School with hisjuris doctorate degree in 1948. Godbold was also a U.S. Army Major as a Division Artillery Headquarters Specialist from 1941 to 1946.^[2]

Professional career

Godbold served as a private practice attorney licensed in the State ofAlabama from 1948 to 1966. Godbold also served as Director of theFederal Judicial Center from 1987 to 1990 before becoming a professor of law for Cumberland School of Law at Samford University since 1990.^[2]

Awards and associations

• 1995: Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, American Judicature Society^[3]

Federal judicial career

Fifth Circuit

Godbold was nominated to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit by PresidentLyndon Johnson on June 28, 1966 to a seat vacated byRichard Rives. Godbold was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 22, 1966, on a senate vote and received commission onJuly 22, 1966. Godbold served as theChief Judge of the court briefly in 1981 before being transferred to the then-newly createdUnited States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.^[2]

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals

As part of legislation signed by PresidentRonald Reagan to create a newUnited States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Godbold was reassigned onOctober 1, 1981. Godbold served as theChief Judge of the court from 1981 to 1986 before assumingsenior status onOctober 23, 1987. He continued to serve the court until his death onDecember 22, 2009.^[2]

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Active judges	Chief Judge: Jennifer Elrod  •  Don Willett  •  James Graves  •  Carl Stewart  •  Edith Jones  •  Leslie Southwick  •  Priscilla Richman  •  Catharina Haynes  •  Jerry Edwin Smith (Fifth Circuit)  •  Kurt Engelhardt  •  Irma Ramirez  •  Stephen Higginson  •  Cory Wilson  •  Stuart Kyle Duncan  •  James Ho  •  Andrew Oldham  •  Dana Douglas
Senior judges	James Dennis  •  Carolyn King  •  Patrick Higginbotham  •  Edith Clement  •  Fortunato Benavides  •  Jacques Wiener  •  W. Eugene Davis  •  Grady Jolly  •  Rhesa Barksdale  •
Former judges	John Minor Wisdom  •  Edward Harris  •  Peter Fay  •  John Godbold  •  Robert Lanier Anderson  •  Phyllis Kravitch  •  Gerald Tjoflat  •  Joseph Hatchett  •  Albert Henderson  •  Paul Roney  •  David Dyer  •  Elbert Tuttle  •  Thomas Clark (Eleventh Circuit)  •  Richard Rives  •  Robert Vance  •  Lewis Morgan  •  James Hill (Federal judge)  •  Andrew Phelps McCormick  •  Don Albert Pardee  •  Thomas Reavley  •  John Duhe  •  Harold DeMoss  •  Edward Prado  •  Robert Madden Hill  •  Alvin Rubin  •  Henry Politz  •  Reynaldo Garza  •  Albert Tate, Jr.  •  Jerre Williams  •  Robert Parker  •  Charles Pickering  •  David Davie Shelby  •  Rufus Edward Foster  •  Robert Lynn Batts  •  Nathan Philemon Bryan  •  Edwin Ruthven Holmes  •  Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr.  •  Alexander Campbell King  •  Samuel Hale Sibley  •  Claude Feemster Clayton  •  Richard Wilde Walker  •  Wayne Borah  •  Louie Willard Strum  •  Irving Goldberg  •  Leon McCord  •  Warren Leroy Jones  •  Robert Ainsworth  •  Joe Ingraham  •  William Thornberry  •  George Carswell  •  Curtis Waller  •  Griffin Bell  •  John Robert Brown (Federal judge)  •  Benjamin Cameron  •  James Coleman (federal judge)  •  Thomas Gee  •  Walter Gewin  •  Samuel Johnson  •  Elmo Lee  •  John Bryan Simpson  •  Frank M. Johnson, Jr.  •  Charles Clark (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)  •  Robert Lee Russell (Federal judge)  •  Gregg Costa  •
Former Chief judges	John Godbold  •  Elbert Tuttle  •  Richard Rives  •  Carl Stewart  •  Carolyn King  •  Priscilla Richman  •  Henry Politz  •  Joseph Chappell Hutcheson Jr.  •  John Robert Brown (Federal judge)  •  James Coleman (federal judge)  •  Charles Clark (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)  •

v • e Federal judges who have served theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Active judges	Chief Judge: William Pryor  •  Adalberto Jordan  •  Barbara Lagoa  •  Robin Rosenbaum  •  Jill Pryor  •  Elizabeth Branch  •  Robert J. Luck  •  Britt Grant  •  Kevin Newsom  •  Andrew Brasher  •  Embry Kidd  •  Nancy Gbana Abudu
Senior judges	Stanley Marcus  •  Julie Carnes  •  Robert Lanier Anderson  •  Gerald Tjoflat  •  James Edmondson (Federal judge)  •  Joel Dubina  •  Susan Black (Eleventh Circuit)  •  Frank Hull  •  Charles Wilson (Florida)  •  Edward Carnes  •
Former judges	Beverly Martin  •  Peter Fay  •  John Godbold  •  Phyllis Kravitch  •  Joseph Hatchett  •  Albert Henderson  •  Paul Roney  •  David Dyer  •  Elbert Tuttle  •  Thomas Clark (Eleventh Circuit)  •  Richard Rives  •  Robert Vance  •  Lewis Morgan  •  Emmett Cox  •  Stanley Birch  •  Rosemary Barkett  •  James Hill (Federal judge)  •  Warren Leroy Jones  •  John Bryan Simpson  •  Frank M. Johnson, Jr.  •
Former Chief judges	John Godbold  •  Robert Lanier Anderson  •  Gerald Tjoflat  •  Joseph Hatchett  •  James Edmondson (Federal judge)  •  Paul Roney  •  Joel Dubina  •  Edward Carnes  •

v • e Federal judges nominated byLyndon Johnson
1964	Anderson •Bratton •Christie •Collins •Cowen •Davis •Ely •Freedman •Gordon •Higginbotham •McNichols •Muecke •Nichols •Port •Rabinovitz •Robinson •Simons •Suttle •Weber •Whelan •Zampano
1965	Bryant •Celebrezze •Coffin •Coleman •Collinson •Corcoran •Doyle •Eubanks •Fortas •Frankel •Gasch •Gibson •Gordon •Harris •Hemphill •Hill •Hunter •Landis •Langley •Leventhal •Maxwell •McEntee •Mehrtens •Nichol •Reynolds •Russell •Smith •Tamm •Thornberry •Young
1966	Ainsworth •Atkins •Boyle •Cabot •Cassibry •Copple •Craven •Cummings •Dyer •Fairchild •Feinberg •Ferguson •Fullam •Garrity •Godbold •Goldberg •Goodwin •Gray •Guinn •Harvey •Hauk •Heaney •Heebe •Hickey •Hogan •Kaufman •Kinneary •Krentzman •Lay •Leddy •Lord •Lynch •MacKenzie •Mansfield •McCree •McRae •Mitchell •Motley •Napoli •Nichols •Noland •Peck II •Peckham •Pettine •Pittman •Porter •Real •Roberts •Robinson •Robinson •Rubin •Russell •Scott •Seals •Seitz •Simpson •Singleton •Skelton •Smith •Smith •Taylor •Thomas •von der Heydt •Watson •Winter • Wise
1967	Arnow •Beckworth •Belloni •Butzner •Cancio •Carter •Clayton •Combs •Comiskey •Curtin •Eaton •Edenfield •Fernandez-Badillo •Gesell •Gordon •Jones •Keith •Kellam •Lambros •Maletz •Marshall •Masterson •Merhige •Morgan •Murray •Neville •Pollack •Pregerson •Theis •Troutman •Van Dusen •Waddy •Weiner •Weinstein •Whipple •Williams
1968	Aldisert •Baldwin •Bownes •Bright •Green •Gubow •Henderson •Holloway •Hufstedler •Judd •Justice •Keady •Kerner, Jr. •Lasker •Latchum •Lawrence •McMillan •Morgan •Newman •Nixon •Pratt •Re •Rosenstein •Schwartz •Smith •Stahl •Travia •Woodward