David F. Levi
Encyclopedia
David F. Levi is a U.S.
jurist
and current Dean of the Duke University School of Law
. From 1990–2007, he was a Judge
of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
, serving as Chief Judge since 2003. At the time Levi left the bench, he was widely considered to be one of the top federal judges in the nation. He has been mentioned as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court.
, Illinois
. His father was Edward H. Levi
, a former president of the University of Chicago
and United States Attorney General
under President Gerald R. Ford. He received an undergraduate degree from Harvard College
, in History and Literature (magna cum laude) in 1972 and then entered the graduate program in history at Harvard
where he eventually specialized in English legal history. He received his law degree in 1980 from the Stanford Law School
, where he graduated Order of the Coif
and was President of the Stanford Law Review
.
From 1980 to 1981 he served as clerk for Judge Ben C. Duniway
of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
and from 1981 to 1982 as clerk for Supreme Court
Justice Lewis F. Powell. In 1983, he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California as a prosecutor. In 1986 he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan
as the United States Attorney
for the Eastern District of California. Levi directed a major corruption investigation involving several California legislators and was also a member of the Attorney General
's Advisory Committee and Chair of the Public Corruption Committee of United States Attorneys. In 1990 he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush
as a judge to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
. He became Chief Judge of the Eastern District of California in May 2003.
In 1994 Levi was appointed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist
to the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. He was appointed Chair of the Civil Rules Committee in 2000. In October 2003 he was appointed Chair of the Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, which sits at the top of the federal judiciary's rulemaking process; in 2010 he was reappointed by Chief Justice John Roberts
to serve as a member of that committee.
He was the first president and a founder of the Milton L. Schwartz American Inn of Court, now the Schwartz-Levi American Inn of Court, at the King Hall School of Law, University of California at Davis, and has served as Chair of the Ninth Circuit’s Task Force on Race, Religious and Ethnic Fairness and as the President of the Ninth Circuit District Judges Association.
In 2005, Levi was elected to the Council of the American Law Institute
(ALI). A member of the ALI since 1991, Judge Levi was an Adviser to its Federal Judicial Code Revision Project and an Adviser to the Institute’s new Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 2007.
He is coauthor of Federal Trial Objections (James 2002). In 2010, he was named to the board of directors of Equal Justice Works. He is on the Rehnquist Center's National Board of Advisers.
His brother, John G. Levi
, introduced Barack and Michelle Obama. His cousin Daniel Meltzer
is a former White House Counsel. His great-grandfather was A.G. Becker.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and current Dean of the Duke University School of Law
Duke University School of Law
The Duke University School of Law is the law school and a constituent academic unit of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law began as the Trinity College School of Law in 1868. In 1924, following the renaming of Trinity...
. From 1990–2007, he was a Judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California is composed of six divisions.The Bakersfield division has jurisdiction over certain cases in Inyo and Kern counties and on federal lands and National Parks...
, serving as Chief Judge since 2003. At the time Levi left the bench, he was widely considered to be one of the top federal judges in the nation. He has been mentioned as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court.
Career
Levi was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. His father was Edward H. Levi
Edward H. Levi
Edward Hirsch Levi was an American academic leader, scholar, and statesman who served as United States Attorney General. He is regularly cited as the "model of a modern attorney general," the "greatest lawyer of his time," and considered, along with Yale's Whitney Griswold, the greatest of...
, a former president of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
under President Gerald R. Ford. He received an undergraduate degree from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, in History and Literature (magna cum laude) in 1972 and then entered the graduate program in history at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where he eventually specialized in English legal history. He received his law degree in 1980 from the Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
, where he graduated Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
and was President of the Stanford Law Review
Stanford Law Review
The Stanford Law Review is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president...
.
From 1980 to 1981 he served as clerk for Judge Ben C. Duniway
Ben C. Duniway
Benjamin Cushing Duniway was an American federal judge.Duniway graduated from Stanford Law School in 1931 and was a Rhodes scholar in 1933. He practiced law in San Francisco for the next 26 years, except for the years 1942–1947 spent with the Federal Office of Price Administration. He was...
of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
and from 1981 to 1982 as clerk for 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...
Justice Lewis F. Powell. In 1983, he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California as a prosecutor. In 1986 he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as the United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Eastern District of California. Levi directed a major corruption investigation involving several California legislators and was also a member of the Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
's Advisory Committee and Chair of the Public Corruption Committee of United States Attorneys. In 1990 he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
as a judge to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California is composed of six divisions.The Bakersfield division has jurisdiction over certain cases in Inyo and Kern counties and on federal lands and National Parks...
. He became Chief Judge of the Eastern District of California in May 2003.
In 1994 Levi was appointed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
to the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. He was appointed Chair of the Civil Rules Committee in 2000. In October 2003 he was appointed Chair of the Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, which sits at the top of the federal judiciary's rulemaking process; in 2010 he was reappointed by Chief Justice John Roberts
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
to serve as a member of that committee.
He was the first president and a founder of the Milton L. Schwartz American Inn of Court, now the Schwartz-Levi American Inn of Court, at the King Hall School of Law, University of California at Davis, and has served as Chair of the Ninth Circuit’s Task Force on Race, Religious and Ethnic Fairness and as the President of the Ninth Circuit District Judges Association.
In 2005, Levi was elected to the Council of the American Law Institute
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law...
(ALI). A member of the ALI since 1991, Judge Levi was an Adviser to its Federal Judicial Code Revision Project and an Adviser to the Institute’s new Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 2007.
He is coauthor of Federal Trial Objections (James 2002). In 2010, he was named to the board of directors of Equal Justice Works. He is on the Rehnquist Center's National Board of Advisers.
His brother, John G. Levi
John G. Levi
John G. Levi was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation by President Barack Obama on August 6, 2009, and his nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 19, 2010. He was elected Chairman of the LSC Board by his fellow Board members on April 7,...
, introduced Barack and Michelle Obama. His cousin Daniel Meltzer
Daniel Meltzer
Daniel Meltzer is an American lawyer and law professor, and is a presidential lawyer in the Obama Administration through June 1, 2010.-Education and career:...
is a former White House Counsel. His great-grandfather was A.G. Becker.