Joseph Tyree Sneed III

Joseph Tyree Sneed III (July 21, 1920 – February 9, 2008) was an American jurist who served as United States Deputy Attorney General and then as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for nearly 35 years until his death. He was the father of Carly Fiorina, a former CEO of Hewlett-Packard.^[1][2]

Joseph Tyree Sneed III
Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
In office July 21, 1987 – February 9, 2008
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
In office August 24, 1973 – July 21, 1987
Appointed by	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Frederick George Hamley
Succeeded by	Stephen S. Trott
12th United States Deputy Attorney General
In office February 1973 – July 9, 1973
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Ralph E. Erickson
Succeeded by	William Ruckelshaus
Personal details
Born	Joseph Tyree Sneed III (1920-07-21)July 21, 1920 Calvert, Texas, U.S.
Died	February 9, 2008(2008-02-09) (aged 87) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Madelon Sneed
Children	3, including Carly Fiorina
Relatives	Joseph P. Sneed (great-great-grandfather)
Education	Southwestern University (BBA) University of Texas at Austin (LLB) Harvard University (SJD)

Early life and education

Joseph Tyree Sneed III was born on July 21, 1920, in Calvert, Texas.^[3][4] He was the son of Cara Carlton (Weber) and Harold Marvin Sneed (January 6, 1883 – Dec 27, 1934), a rancher and landowner.^[3][5][6] Joseph P. Sneed is his great-great-grandfather. He spent his youth working summers as a cowboy on his uncle's ranch in the Texas Panhandle.^[4]

Sneed received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Southwestern University in 1941.^[3] He served as a staff sergeant in the Army Air Corps during World War II.^[3] Sneed attended the University of Texas School of Law, where he received his Bachelor of Laws, Order of the Coif in 1947.^[3][4] He was also a visiting student at the London School of Economics and the University of Ghana.^[4] He subsequently received a Doctor of Juridical Science from Harvard Law School in 1958.^[3]

Career

Academia

Sneed was an assistant professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law from 1947 to 1951.^[3] He became an associate professor in 1951 and was made a full professor in 1954. He taught at the University of Texas until 1957.^[3]

Sneed was a professor of law at Cornell Law School from 1957 to 1962, followed by the Stanford Law School from 1962 to 1971.^[3] He was professor of law and dean of the Duke University School of Law from 1971 to 1973.^[3][4][7]

Judicial service

Sneed was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat vacated (formerly occupied) by Judge Frederick George Hamley on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on July 25, 1973.^[3][4] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 3, 1973, and received his judicial commission on August 24, 1973. He assumed senior status on July 21, 1987.^[8]

Sneed was part of a three-judge panel that replaced Whitewater special prosecutor Robert B. Fiske with Kenneth Starr in 1994.^[4][9]

Personal life

Sneed married Madelon Montross Juergens in 1944.^[3] She was a portrait and abstract artist who died in 1998.^[4] Together they had a son and two daughters, including Carly Fiorina.^[3] They resided in San Francisco, California.^[4]

Death

Sneed died on February 9, 2008, in San Francisco at the age of 87.^[10][3][4]