Thomas Whitten Slick was a United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

.

Born in South Bend, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

, Slick received an LL.B. from the University of Michigan Law School

University of Michigan Law School

The University of Michigan Law School is the law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Founded in 1859, the school has an enrollment of about 1,200 students, most of whom are seeking Juris Doctor or Master of Laws degrees, although the school also offers a Doctor of Juridical...

 in 1893. He was in private practice in South Bend from 1893 to 1925, serving as a prosecuting attorney of St. Joseph County, Indiana

St. Joseph County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 265,559 people, 100,743 households, and 66,792 families residing in the county. The population density was 581 people per square mile . There were 107,013 housing units at an average density of 234 per square mile...

 from 1896 to 1900, ands as a city attorney of South Bend from 1918 to 1922.

On February 6, 1925, Slick was nominated by President Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

 to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Indiana created by 43 Stat. 751. He was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on February 17, 1925, and received his commission the same day. On April 21, 1928, the District of Indiana was subdivided, and Slick was reassigned by operation of law

Operation of law

The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies without a will, his heirs are determined by operation...

 to the newly created United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern and southern. As part of the act, the Northern District was divided into three divisions, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Hammond...

. Slick served in that capacity until his retirement from the bench on September 16, 1943.

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