John A. Field, Jr.

Who was John A. Field, Jr.?

John A. Field, Jr. was a United States federal judge.

Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Field received an A.B. from Hampden-Sydney College in 1932 and an LL.B. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1935. He was in private practice in Charleston from 1935 to 1943. He was in the United States Navy during World War II, from 1944 to 1946. He returned to private practice in Charleston from 1947 to 1957, and was member of the Charleston City Council from 1947 to 1951, and president of that body from 1951 to 1955. He unsuccessfully ran as a Republican candidate for West Virginia state attorney general in 1956, but was instead appointed state tax commissioner from 1957 to 1959.

On May 11, 1959, Field was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia vacated by Ben Moore. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 12, 1959, and received his commission the following day. He served as chief judge from 1959 to 1971.

On September 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon nominated Field for elevation to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated by Herbert Stephenson Boreman. Field was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 21, 1971, and received his commission the following day. He assumed senior status on April 1, 1976, serving in that capacity until his death in 1995, in Naples, Florida.