James Emmett Barrett


James Emmett Barrett was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Education and career

Barrett was born in Lusk, Wyoming to Frank A. Barrett and Alice Catherine Donoghue Barrett. He graduated from Niobrara County High School in Lusk. As a teenager he wrote for the "Lusk Herald" and The Denver Post. He served in the United States Army during World War II from 1942 to 1945. He received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1949. He was in private practice in Lusk from 1949 to 1967, serving as a prosecuting attorney in Lusk from 1951 to 1962, and as a town attorney from 1954 to 1956. He was secretary-treasurer of Niobrara County Republican Central Committee from 1950 to 1966, and the attorney for the Niobrara Consolidated School District from 1952 to 1962. He became the Wyoming Attorney General from 1967 to 1971.

Federal judicial service

On March 25, 1971, Barrett was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated by Judge John J. Hickey. Barrett was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 21, 1971, and received his commission on April 23, 1971. He served as a Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review from May 19, 1979 to May 18, 1984. He assumed senior status on April 8, 1987, serving in that status until his death.

Family life

Barrett's father, Frank A. Barrett, was a member of the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the 21st Governor of Wyoming. Barrett was married to Carmel Ann Martinez Barrett and they had three children.

Death

Barrett died on November 7, 2011 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He is interred at Lusk Cemetery in Lusk, Wyoming.