Collins Jacques Seitz was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...

 from 1966 until his death in 1998.

Born in Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

, Seitz graduated from the University of Delaware

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

 and later the University of Virginia Law School. He began private practice in Wilmington in 1940, continuing until being appointed vice-chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery

Delaware Court of Chancery

The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court.-Jurisdiction:...

 in 1946. He served as vice-chancellor until 1951, and also concurrently served on the Supreme Court of Delaware from 1949 to 1951. He was elevated to chancellor in 1951, and remained in this position until 1966.

During his term as chancellor, Seitz presided over the Gebhart v. Belton

Gebhart v. Belton

Gebhart v. Belton, 33 Del. Ch. 144, 87 A.2d 862 , aff'd, 91 A.2d 137 , was a case decided by the Delaware Court of Chancery in 1952 and affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court in the same year. Gebhart was one of the five cases combined into Brown v...

case, which was later combined with several other cases into the U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 decision in Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...

.

Seitz was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by U.s. President Lyndon B. Johnson on February 28, 1966, to a seat vacated by John Biggs, Jr.. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 9, 1966, and received his commission. He served as chief judge of the Third Circuit, 1971–1984 and assumed senior status

Senior status

Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...

 on June 1, 1989. His judicial service was terminated with his death on October 16, 1998.

His daughter, Virginia A. Seitz

Virginia A. Seitz

Virginia A. Seitz is an American attorney who specializes in constitutional law, labor law, employment law and administrative law and who has been confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Department of...

, is a well-known attorney at the law firm of Sidley Austin

Sidley Austin

Sidley Austin LLP, formerly known as Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, is one of the oldest law firms in the world. It is the sixth-largest U.S.-based corporate law firm with more than 1,650 lawyers, annual revenues of more than one billion dollars, and offices in 17 cities worldwide, with the most...

, and has been mentioned as possible U.S. Supreme Court nominee

Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates

President Barack Obama has made two successful appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States. The first was that of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Justice David H. Souter. Sotomayor was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 6,...

 for Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

. Seitz's son, Collins J. "C.J." Seitz, Jr., is a senior partner (and former managing partner) at the Delaware law firm of Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP.http://www.cblh.com/attorneys/cseitz

Almanac

Public Offices
Office	Type	Location	Took Office	Left Office	notes
Vice Chancellor Delaware Court of Chancery The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court.-Jurisdiction:...	Judiciary Judiciary The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...	Dover Dover, Delaware The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...	1946	1951	State Chancery Court Delaware Court of Chancery The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court.-Jurisdiction:...
Justice Delaware Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Delaware is the sole appellate court in the United States' state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, particularly in the area of mergers and...	Judiciary Judiciary The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...	Dover Dover, Delaware The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...	1949	1951	State Supreme Court Delaware Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Delaware is the sole appellate court in the United States' state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, particularly in the area of mergers and...
Chancellor Delaware Court of Chancery The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court.-Jurisdiction:...	Judiciary Judiciary The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...	Dover Dover, Delaware The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...	1951	1966	State Chancery Court Delaware Court of Chancery The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court.-Jurisdiction:...
Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...	Judiciary Judiciary The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...	Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...	June 9, 1966	October 16, 1998	U.S. Court of Appeals United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...
Chief Judge United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...	Judiciary Judiciary The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...	Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...	1971	1984	U.S. Court of Appeals United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:* District of Delaware* District of New Jersey...

Sources