Donald Roy Colvin (July 2, 1918 – March 12, 1996) was an attorney in Los Angeles, California, who clerked for Justice William O. Douglas of the U.S. Supreme Court during the 1945 Term.
Biography Donald Colvin was born in Denver, Colorado, to Emma Louise Seal (August 6, 1891 – December 13, 1972) and Ray Stuckey Colvin (February 4, 1885 – December 17, 1959), a journalist from Illinois who was city editor of the Rocky Mountain News, and later the night managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.Watson, Emmett (1982). Digressions of a native son. Seattle, WA: Pacific Institute. p. 110 ("Mike referred to Ray Colvin, a frail, sallow-faced night managing editor, whom I liked very much.") , . The family moved to Seattle, where Donald graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1936.
In 1940, Colvin received his degree from the University of Washington. In 1940, he enrolled at the University of Washington School of Law, where he was a member of Phi Delta PhiEntry for Donald Roy Colvin, Beverley Hills, CA, Phi Delta Phi . Retrieved February 22, 2017. and an editor of the Washington Law Review at the same time as Vern Countryman.Masthead entry for Donald R. Colvin, Washington Law Review, vol. 16, p. 35 (1941). He interrupted his law studies during World War II to serve as a sergeant in the United States Army, from February 1941 to February 1944. He returned to law school and, in 1945, was graduated first in his class.Colvin, Donald R. (1945). "Comment: A Reconciliation of Priorities Under Executory Contracts for the Sale of Land." Washington Law Review and State Bar Journal, XX(3): 159-166; and Colvin, Donald R. (1945). "Comment: Jurisdictional Disputes," Washington Law Review and State Bar Journal, XX(4): 217-231. Retrieved February 22, 2017. Colvin's clerkship at the U.S. Supreme Court for William O. Douglas during the 1945 Term followed Lucile Lomen, the first woman to clerk and a fellow graduate of Queen Anne High School.
In June 1947, he was admitted to the California bar.Member search for "Donald R. Colvin," California State Bar. Retrieved February 22, 2017. In the early 1950s, he was counsel to the New Jersey Central Railroad Company in New York City. He later moved to Beverly Hills, California, and practiced law in Los Angeles.His cases included criminal law: People v. Hinze, 97 Cal. App. 2d 1 (Cal. App. Third District, 1950); bankruptcy, Olsan v. Comora, 73 Cal. App. 3d 644 (Cal. App. Second District, 1977); and zoning law: Shelter Creek Development Corp. v. City of Oxnard, 838 F.2d 375 (9th Cir. 1988). In 1955, Colvin pleaded guilty in Spokane County Superior Court, State of Washington, to four charges of grand larceny by check for writing $400 worth of bad checks in February 1955.Medford Mail Tribune (Oregon), June 28, 1955, p. 12 ("Colvin, who is a former attorney for the New Jersey Central Railroad Co., was returned here from New York to face the charges. He also is wanted in Tacoma and Seattle [and Redding, California] on similar charges, police explained.")
In 1996, Colvin died in Los Angeles, California.
See also List of law clerks for the fourth seat of the Supreme Court of the United States
References