Thomas Jamison MacBride


Thomas Jamison MacBride was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Education and career

Born in Sacramento, California, MacBride received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1936 and a Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1940. He was a law clerk for the Office of the Deputy State Attorney General of California from 1940 to 1942. He was in the United States Naval Reserve during World War II, from 1942 to 1946. He was in private practice in Sacramento from 1946 to 1961.

Federal judicial service

MacBride was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on September 14, 1961, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, to a new seat authorized by 75 Stat. 80. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 21, 1961, and received his commission on September 22, 1961. He was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on September 18, 1966, to a new seat authorized by 80 Stat. 75. He served as Chief Judge from 1967 to 1979. He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1975 to 1978. He was a Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 1979 to 1980. He was a Judge of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals from 1982 to 1987. He assumed senior status on March 25, 1979. His service terminated on January 6, 2000, due to his death in Sacramento.