Richard Cudahy

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Richard Cudahy

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Nonpartisan

Prior offices
United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Education

Bachelor's

West Point, 1948

Law

Yale Law, 1955

Personal
Birthplace
Milwaukee, Wis.


Richard Dickson Cudahy was a federal appeals judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. He joined the court in 1979 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter.[1] Cudahy passed away on September 22, 2015, at the age of 89.[2]

Education

Cudahy graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1948. Cudahy later obtained his J.D. degree in 1955 from Yale Law School.[1]

Military service

After graduating from West Point, Cudahy served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1948 to 1951.[1]

Professional career

  • 1976-1979: Lecturer, George Washington University School of Law
  • 1976-1979: Attorney in private practice
  • 1972-1975: Member and chairman, Wisconsin Public Service Commission
  • 1972: Attorney in private practice
  • 1966-1967: Visiting professor of law, University of Wisconsin
  • 1961-1966: Lecturer, Marquette University Law School
  • 1961-1971: President and C.E.O., Patrick Cudahy, Inc., Cudahy and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • 1957-1960: Attorney in private practice
  • 1956-1957: Assistant to legal advisor, U.S. Department of State
  • 1955-1956: Law clerk, Honorable Charles Clark, United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit[1]

Judicial career

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

On the unanimous recommendation of Senators Gaylord Nelson and William Proxmire, Cudahy was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit by President Jimmy Carter on May 22, 1979, to a new seat created by 92 Stat. 1629, 1632. Cudahy was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 25, 1979, and received commission on September 26, 1979. Cudahy assumed senior status on August 15, 1994.[1] Cudahy served on the court until he passed away on September 22, 2015.[2]

Noteworthy cases

IL abortion law case (2009)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (Zbaraz et al., v. Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of Illinois, et at., US 08-1620, 08-1782)

Judge Cudahy was part of a three judge panel led by Judge John Tinder on July 14, 2009, that removed an injunction against the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.[3] The 1995 law required parental notification for abortions in Illinois. After the law was passed, it remained latent due to an injunction filed that prevented enforcement.[3]

Under the law, parents must be notified 48 hours before a girl age seventeen or younger obtains an abortion in Illinois. However, it does not require parental consent. The law also contains a provision to bypass the notification requirement by notifying a judge.[4]

After the law was passed, a group of Illinois doctors demanded that Attorney General Jim Ryan should refrain from enforcing it due to complaints over the judicial bypass provision. Both sides agreed to a court order placing an injunction on enforcement of the law. It was not until 2006 that the Illinois Supreme Court allowed enforcement of the law, but the State was required to file a lawsuit to lift the injunction.[4]

The suit was filed in March of 2007, when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan petitioned federal judge David Coar to lift the injunction.[4] Judge Coar denied the petition, and subsequently, the Thomas More Society and the Illinois Catholic Conference filed an appeal to the Seventh Circuit.

The three judge panel decided in favor of the judicial bypass provision, stating, "the law is constitutional on its face under the relevant criteria for consent statutes, and therefore, it satisfies any criteria that are required for bypass provisions in notice statutes.”[4]

Judge Cudahy and Tinder were joined on the three judge panel with Judge Michael Kanne.[4]

See also

External links


Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by:
NA - new seat
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
1979–1994
Succeeded by:
Terence Evans