Leland Clure Morton

Who was Leland Clure Morton?

Leland Clure Morton was a United States federal judge.

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Morton received a B.A. from the University of Tennessee in 1934 and a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1936. He was in private practice in Knoxville from 1937 to 1941. He was an FBI special agent in Washington, D.C., from 1941 to 1945, thereafter returning to private practice in Knoxville, from 1946 to 1970.

On September 21, 1970, Morton was nominated by President Richard M. Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee vacated by William E. Miller. Morton was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 8, 1970, and received his commission on October 14, 1970. He served as chief judge from 1977 to 1984, assuming senior status on July 31, 1984, and serving in that capacity until his death, in 1998, in Knoxville.

In 1996, the L. Clure Morton United States Post Office and Courthouse in Cookeville, Tennessee, was renamed in his honor.