Robert P. Patterson, Jr.

Robert Porter Patterson Jr. (July 11, 1923 – April 21, 2015) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and career Born in New York City, New York on July 11, 1923, the son of United States Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson, Patterson Jr. was in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1956, during which time he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1947 and a Bachelor of Laws from Columbia Law School in 1950. He was in private practice in New York City from 1950 to 1952, then served as assistant counsel to the New York State Crime Commission from 1952 to 1953, and as an Assistant United States Attorney for Southern District of New York from 1953 to 1956. He was also an assistant counsel to the United States Senate Banking and Currency Committee in 1954. He was in private practice in New York City again from 1956 (joining the firm founded by his father, Patterson, Belknap & Webb - later Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler) to 1988, working as a special hearing officer for conscientious objectors in the United States Department of Justice from 1961 to 1968, and as minority counsel to a Select Committee Pursuant to United States House of Representatives Resolution Number 1 in 1967. Federal judicial service