Michael Boudin was a First Circuit judge. Born November 29, 1939, he died March 24, 2025. He was chief judge of the court from 2001 until 2008. He was a DC federal district judge before entering the First Circuit. Parkinson’s illness and dementia killed him in March 2025.
Michael Boudin Biography | His Life and Legal Legacy
Michael Boudin Beginnings of formal education
Boudin was born in New York City on November 29, 1939, to poet Jean (Roisman) Boudin and civil rights attorney Leonard Boudin. He was the older brother of Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin. He received a BA from Harvard in 1961. He became the journal’s president at Harvard Law School. His Bachelor of Laws was in 1964.
Before interning for Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan II in 1965–1966, he clerked for Second Circuit US Court of Appeals Judge Henry J. Friendly in 1964–1965.
Michael Boudin A legal career
From 1966 until 1987, Boudin practiced regulatory law at Covington & Burling in Washington, DC. His major job at Covington & Burling for 21 years was writing appellate briefs for corporate clients in complicated regulatory cases. He was a Harvard Law School visiting professor from 1982 to 1983. From 1983 until 1998, he taught there. His Reagan Justice Department tenure included serving as the Antitrust Division’s deputy assistant US attorney general from 1987 to 1990.
Michael Boudin The federal courts
On May 18, 1990, President George H. W. Bush nominated Boudin to replace John H. Pratt on the DC Circuit. The US Senate confirmed him on August 3, 1990, and he was commissioned on August 7, 1990. Boudin resigned on January 31, 1992, to return to Massachusetts after 18 months on the District Court.
Boudin was nominated to replace Judge Levin H. Campbell’s seat on the Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeals when he became a senior judge two months later, on March 20, 1992. After Senate confirmation, he received his commission on May 26, 1992. Boudin was First Circuit chief judge from 2001 until 2008. Senior status arrived on June 1, 2013. He resigned on December 15, 2021.
Michael Boudin Personal life and death
Boudin married Harvard law professor Martha Field. An American Philosophical Society member since 2010, he was elected that year.
Due to dementia and Parkinson’s disease, he died at a Boston care facility on March 24, 2025, aged 85.
Honoring Michael Boudin
In moments like these, we feel the loss deeply. Michael Boudin left a lasting impact on many lives.
If you have any memories or thoughts to share, please feel free to leave a comment below. Let’s come together to remember and celebrate his life.
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