Emett Clay Choate

Who was Emett Clay Choate?

Emett Clay Choate was an American lawyer and a United States federal judge.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Choate received an LL.B. from Indiana University in 1914. Choate was a U.S. Army major from 1917 to 1918, during World War I. He was in private practice in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from 1917 to 1921, in New York City from 1922 to 1925, and in Miami, Florida from 1925 to 1954.

On June 22, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Choate to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida created by 68 Stat. 8. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 20, 1954, and received his commission the same day.

Among his cases was that of Richard Paul Pavlick, a would-be-assassin stalking President John F. Kennedy. Choate ruled that Pavlick was mentally ill and had him confined to a mental hospital.

Choate assumed senior status on January 31, 1965 and remained on the court until his death in 1974.