George Luzerne Hart, Jr.

Who was George Luzerne Hart, Jr.?

George Luzerne Hart, Jr. was a United States federal judge.

Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Hart received an A.B. from Virginia Military Institute in 1927 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1930. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1930 to 1940. He was in the United States Army Reserve during World War II, from 1941 to 1946, returning to private practice from 1946 to 1958.

On August 29, 1958, Hart received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated by James Robert Kirkland. Formally nominated on January 17, 1959, Hart was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 9, 1959, and received his commission on September 10, 1959. He served as chief judge from 1974 to 1975, assuming senior status on May 16, 1979. He then served as the presiding judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 1979 to 1982. Hart thereafter continued to serve as a senior judge of the District Court for the District of Columbia until his death, in Washington, D.C.