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Patricia McGowan Wald

Patricia McGowan Wald

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit · 1979

Patricia McGowan Wald , Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate voted 77–21 on the nomination on Jul 24, 1979 (). Patricia Ann McGowan Wald (; née McGowan; September 16, 1928 – January 12, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1986 until 1991. She was the Court's first female chief judge and its first woman to be elevated, having been appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

Senate votes: 1

Senate confirmation votes

U
96th Congress · 77–21 · Jul 24, 1979

Education

Connecticut College for Women (now Connecticut College)B.A., 1948
Yale Law SchoolLL.B., 1951

Career

Law clerk, Hon. Jerome Frank, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1951-1952; Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1952-1953; Research and editorial assistant, Frederick M. Rowe, Esq., 1959-1962; Member, National Conference on Bail and Criminal Justice, 1963-1964; Consultant, National Conference on Law & Poverty, Office of Economic Opportunity, 1965; Member, President's Commission on Crime in the District of Columbia, 1965-1966; Consultant, President's Commission on Law Enforcement & Administration of Criminal Justice, 1966-1967; Attorney, Office of Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, 1967-1968; Attorney, Neighborhood Legal Services Program, Washington, D.C., 1968-1970; Consultant, National Advisory Committee on Civil Disorder, 1968; Consultant, National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, 1969; Co-director, Ford Foundation Drug Abuse Research Project,

Biography

Patricia Ann McGowan Wald (; née McGowan; September 16, 1928 – January 12, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1986 until 1991. She was the Court's first female chief judge and its first woman to be elevated, having been appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

From Senate roll call votes, Wikidata, Wikipedia and Office of Government Ethics records.

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Capitol Receipts, “Patricia McGowan Wald : Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the…,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/appointee/j2475/patricia-mcgowan-wald (accessed 2026-10-13).