Evening star., 1960-02-28
By MIRIAM GUTENBERG
Star staff Writer

Inc mysterious disappearance
of Federal judge-flrst in Amer
lean history-has dropped knotty
problem on the doorstep of Con-
gresS.
Four Senator's hope to resolve it
with a one-page bill now awaiting
Senate Judiciary subcommittee
hearings.
The problem: Is United States
Court of Appeals Judge w. Lynn
Parkinson of the Seventh Circuit
alive or dead? If he's dead, how
can it be proved? And. most i'm
portantly. how do you supply
needed judge-power for an over
loaded court when you can't prove
q vacancy legally exists?
For official headaches, the Park
inson mystery dwarfs the more
publicized diSappearance Of
another judge-Joseph F. Crater
of New York. who vanished on
August 8, 1880. and was seen no
more. Judge Crater was q State
judge and the vacancy existed only
until the next election. But Judge
Parkinson held a lifetime appoint
ment.
Judge Parkinson was last seen
early in the evening Of october
26. 1959-less than two crowded
hours after he left the Federal
Court of Appeals building on Chi
cagoS North Side, His wife didn't
report the disappearance for "a
hours, thinking he had gone to
visit his son in Lafayette, Ind.
Appeal From Chief Judge
On January IL, 1860, Chief
Judge John S. Hastings Of the
Seventh Circuit Court Of Appeals
telegraphed Warren Olney III, di-
rector Of the Administrative Office
of United States Courts, appeal
ing for action to solve IAN unusual
emergency situation" in his court.
Our view" he wired, 'iS that
the Parkinson matter cannot be
clarified by existing Federal stat
utes or other judicial action. We
have called in several district
judges in our circuit to sit with
us as temporary expedient.
However, this cannot be continued
indefinitely because of congested
conditions in the district courts"
A week later. Senator Dirksen,
Republican Of Illinois, brought up
the Parkinson mystery on the
floor Of the Senate. He then an
nounced introduction of a bill CO.
sponsored by himself, Senator
Hartke, Democrat of Indiana:
Senator Capehart, Republican of
Indiana, and Senator Wiley, Re-
publican of Wisconsin. The Sew
enth Circuit covers Illinois, In
diana and Wisconsin.
The bill simply provides for the
appointment of one circuit Judge
for the 7th Judicial Circuit.
Judge Parkinson's judgeship
would remain untitled until his
fate is known or until he is de-
clared legally dead some years
hence.
Simple as 1t is, the bill didn't
come into being until half a
dozen other alternatives had
been considered and discarded to
deal with an unprecedented prob
lem in American history.
One suggested course was to
seek a declaratory judgment de-
claring the judge legally dead for
the purposes of the United States.
This was rejected partially be-
cause it would upset a body Of
State law on missing persons.
Medical Report Required
Another possibility was to use
law under which the judges
five colleagues would certify to
the President that the Judge was
either mentally or physically un-
able to perform the duties of his
office. But what would happen
If the judge showed up a week or
a month later and was quite fit?
That alternative was finally tossed
out when it was noticed that the
law requires a medical report to
substantiate the judges certif1ca-
tion. Without a person to be
examined, there could be no
medical report.
Another possibility was explored
and rejected-to write law say
ing what could and couldn't be
done to fill a vacancy when
Federal judge disappeared. But,
as Senator Dirksen pointed out.
this is the first time a Federal
judge has disappeared in the ITO
years of the Federal judiciary.
1t may not happen again for an
other ITO years. Why clutter up
the code?
The possibility of creating
temporary judgeship was also
considered. But how long is tenn
porary? Would it be for five years
because the judge came from
Indiana, where a missing person
can be declared legally dead after
five years? Or would 1t be for
seven years because the judge
now made his home in Illinois.
where a person cannot be de-
clared legally dead for seven
years? Or should the temporary
judgeship exist until another va
cancy occurred?
The temporary judgeship was
rejected as a solution after a
study of the appellate courts
work-load. Appeals filed in that
court have risen from 262 in 1857
to 3O7 in 1858 to $40 in 1859. 1t
was felt the court needed another
judge on a permanent basis any
time the Parkinson mystery was
solved one way or another.
Two committees of the Judicial
Conference at their meeting last
week in New Orleans voted unan-
imously to recommend the pend
ing bill for another permanent
judgeship and to urge its early