Robert H. McFarland (February 25, 1919 – March 31, 2008) was a judge of the United States District Court for the Canal Zone from 1978 to 1979.
Early life, military service, and education Born in Bay Springs, Mississippi,"Bay Springs native resigns judgeship in Panama zone", Jackson Clarion-Ledger (August 22, 1979), p. B-5 McFarland attended Bay Springs High School and served in the United States Army during World War II, stationed in Texas. After the war, he received his law degree at the University of Mississippi School of Law, and entered the practice of law in Bay Springs, Mississippi in 1947."Judge nominee praised", Biloxi Sun Herald ((July 3, 1978), p. 13. He was chairman of the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board from 1962 to 1970.
Judicial service On June 20, 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced the nomination of McFarland to the seat."Carter Nominates Canal Zone Judge", Miami Herald (June 21, 1978), p. 17-A. The nomination was praised by Mississippi members of the U.S. Senate John C. Stennis and James Eastland, with Eastland describing McFarland as a longtime friend, though a regional NAACP official called for the withdrawal of the appointment based on a report that McFarland had once chaired a White Citizen's Council in Jasper County, Georgia."Appointment Hit", Jackson Clarion-Ledger (July 5, 1978), p. 3. Despite this objection, McFarland was confirmed by the Senate on July 10, 1978."Mississippi lawyer OK'd as Canal judge", The Harrisburg Evening News (July 11, 1978), p. 3.
McFarland served until July 1979, two months after his oldest daughter died from complications from juvenile diabetes; McFarland lamented that he and his wife were unable to be with his daughter during the last several months of her life due to the obligations of his office, and desired to thereafter stay closer to their other three children."Canal Zone judge, McFarland, resigns", The Clarksdale Press Register (August 22, 1979), p. 11. Following McFarland's resignation it was expected that the seat would remain vacant until the next administration, but the court was abolished in 1982 without another judge being appointed to the seat.United States Marshal's service history of US Court for the Canal Zone.
Personal life and death While stationed in Texas, McFarland met Susan Showfield, whom he married in 1947, and with whom he had two daughters and two sons. McFarland died of heart failure at Jasper General Hospital at the age of 89.
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