Daniel T.K. Hurley
Encyclopedia
Daniel T.K. Hurley is an American lawyer
and judge
. He currently serves on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
.
. Both sides of his family were of Irish ancestry
; they had immigrated to the United States
and settled in Fitchburg after the Irish potato famine.
Hurley had decided to become a Catholic priest
in the eighth grade. He attended a Catholic
high school
(where he was senior class president) before attending Saint Anselm College
, where he was student government president. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts
degree
from Saint Anselm in 1964,
Hurley attended St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, a Catholic seminary
in Boynton Beach
operated by the Diocese of Miami
After a year at seminary, Hurley was send to Washington, D.C.
, to work toward a master's degree
in marriage counseling
. Working in Washington led Hurley to change career paths. He entered George Washington University Law School, and while a law student
worked as a legislative aide, in the House Post Office, and attended sessions of Congress
and the Supreme Court
. Hurley received his J.D.
in 1968.
for John H. Pratt
of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
from 1968 to 1969 and for Roger Robb
of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
in 1969. In 1969 Hurley was a volunteer for the Vietnam Moratorium Committee
.
From 1970 to 1972 Hurley was assistant county solicitor for Palm Beach County, Florida
. From 1973 to 1975 Hurley was assistant state attorney for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
and from 1975 to 1977 Hurley served as a judge on the county court of Palm Beach County. Hurley served as a judge on the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit from 1977 to 1979, on the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal
from 1979 to 1986, and again on the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit from 1986 to 1994. The return to circuit court was unusual; this was because Hurley missed the human contact of the trial court
and disliked the isolation of the appellate court
.
President
Bill Clinton
nominated Judge Hurley to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on November 10, 1993, to the seat vacated by James Carriger Paine
. Confirmed
by the Senate
on March 10, 1994, he received commission
on March 11, 1994.
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
and judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
. He currently serves on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida....
.
Early life and education
Hurley was born in Fitchburg, MassachusettsFitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...
. Both sides of his family were of Irish ancestry
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
; they had immigrated to the United States
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
and settled in Fitchburg after the Irish potato famine.
Hurley had decided to become a Catholic priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
in the eighth grade. He attended a Catholic
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
(where he was senior class president) before attending Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
, where he was student government president. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
from Saint Anselm in 1964,
Hurley attended St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, a Catholic seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in Boynton Beach
Boynton Beach, Florida
Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 60,389 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the city had a population of 66,714 according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research...
operated by the Diocese of Miami
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami
The Archdiocese of Miami is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastic territory includes Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties in the U.S. state of Florida. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami,...
After a year at seminary, Hurley was send to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to work toward a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in marriage counseling
Relationship counseling
Relationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress...
. Working in Washington led Hurley to change career paths. He entered George Washington University Law School, and while a law student
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
worked as a legislative aide, in the House Post Office, and attended sessions of Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and the 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...
. Hurley received his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1968.
Career
Hurley served as a law clerkLaw clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
for John H. Pratt
John H. Pratt
John Helm Pratt John Helm Pratt John Helm Pratt (November 17, 1910, Portsmouth, New Hampshire-August 11, 1995, Chevy Chase, Maryland, was an American judge.He was educated at Harvard University, graduating A.B. in 1930, and it Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1934). He was in private legal practice in...
of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a federal district court. Appeals from the District are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a...
from 1968 to 1969 and for Roger Robb
Roger Robb
Roger Robb was a United States federal judge and trial attorney, who prosecuted J. Robert Oppenheimer in a celebrated Atomic Energy Commission hearing in 1954....
of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
in 1969. In 1969 Hurley was a volunteer for the Vietnam Moratorium Committee
Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam
The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a large demonstration against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War that took place across the United States on October 15, 1969. The Moratorium developed from Jerome Grossman's April 20, 1969, call for a general strike if the war had not...
.
From 1970 to 1972 Hurley was assistant county solicitor for Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
. From 1973 to 1975 Hurley was assistant state attorney for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Florida Circuit Courts
The Florida Circuit Courts are state courts. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction for most controversies. In Florida, the circuit courts are one of four types of courts created by the Florida Constitution .The Circuit Courts primarily handle civil cases where...
and from 1975 to 1977 Hurley served as a judge on the county court of Palm Beach County. Hurley served as a judge on the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit from 1977 to 1979, on the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal
Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal
The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. Its twelve judges have jurisdiction over cases arising in Palm Beach County, Broward County, St. Lucie County, Martin County, Indian River County, and Okeechobee County....
from 1979 to 1986, and again on the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit from 1986 to 1994. The return to circuit court was unusual; this was because Hurley missed the human contact of the trial court
Trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...
and disliked the isolation of the appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
.
President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
nominated Judge Hurley to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on November 10, 1993, to the seat vacated by James Carriger Paine
James Carriger Paine
James Carriger Paine is an American lawyer and judge.Paine was born in 1924 in Valdosta, Georgia. His family moved to Palm Beach County in his childhood. Paine graduated from Palm Beach High School in 1941...
. Confirmed
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
by the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on March 10, 1994, he received commission
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
on March 11, 1994.
External links
- Daniel T.K. Hurley profile from the Palm Beach County Bar Association