Richard Howard Battey

Who is Richard Howard Battey?

Richard Howard Battey is a senior United States federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.

Battey was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota. After receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota in 1950, he received a J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1953. After serving as a United States Army Lieutenant from 1953 to 1955, he went into private practice in Redfield, South Dakota from 1955 to 1985. During that thirty-year period, he was the city attorney of Redfield from 1956 to 1963, and a state's attorney of Spink County, South Dakota from 1959 to 1965 and from 1981 to 1985.

In 1985 Battey became a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. Battey was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 27, 1985, to a seat vacated when Andrew W. Bogue assumed senior status. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 25, 1985, and received his commission on October 28, 1985. He served as chief judge from 1994 to 1998. Judge Battey assumed senior status on January 1, 1999.