Henry W. Goddard

Who was Henry W. Goddard?

Henry Warren Goddard was a longtime federal judge in New York City.

Born in New York, Goddard graduated from New York Law School in 1901. From 1901 to 1923, he worked as a lawyer in private practise in Manhattan and became active in Republican politics. In 1923, President Warren G. Harding appointed Goddard as a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, filling a newly created seat on the court. Goddard served as an active judge until 1954.

Goddard's caseload varied during his 31 years on the bench. Civil cases heard by Goddard included a 1929 suit filed by Anne Nichols against Universal Pictures, alleging that the screenplay for the film The Cohens and Kellys was plagiarized from Nichols' Broadway play Abie's Irish Rose. Goddard's conclusion that there had been no copyright infringement was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in an opinion by Learned Hand.