Samuel Conti

Samuel Conti
File:Samuel Conti Senior District Judge.jpg
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
In office November 1, 1987 – August 29, 2018
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
In office October 16, 1970 – November 1, 1987
Appointed by	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Seat established by 84 Stat. 294
Succeeded by	Fern M. Smith
Judge of the Contra Costa County Superior Court
In office 1968–1970
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Personal details
Born	(1922-07-16)July 16, 1922 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	August 29, 2018(2018-08-29) (aged 96) Carlsbad, California, U.S.
Spouse	Dolores
Children	3
Education	University of Santa Clara (BS) Stanford University (LLB)

Samuel Conti (July 16, 1922 – August 29, 2018) was an American jurist who was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was appointed to the federal bench in 1970, and assumed senior status in 1987. He continued to hear cases until 2015.

Background

Born on July 16, 1922, in Los Angeles, California, Conti received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Santa Clara in 1945 after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He received a Bachelor of Laws from Stanford Law School in 1948.

Career

He was in private practice in San Francisco, California from 1948 to 1967. He was Chairman of the Civil Service Board of Appeals in Pittsburg, California from 1956 to 1958. He was city attorney of Concord, California from 1960 to 1969. He was a judge of the Contra Costa County Superior Court from 1968 to 1970.

Federal judicial service

Conti was nominated by President Richard Nixon on October 7, 1970, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 13, 1970, and received his commission on October 16, 1970. He assumed senior status on November 1, 1987. Conti assumed inactive status on October 30, 2015, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court.

Conti was a self-described conservative known for his tough-on-crime views and ardent support of capital punishment, earning the nicknames "Hanging Sam" and "Slammin' Sam".

Notable cases

In 1974, Conti sentenced Nicholas Sand to fifteen years' imprisonment for operating a lab that manufactured LSD, and lamented that it was not a capital offense. In 1976, he handed down a life sentence to Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in San Francisco.

Between 1979–1980, Conti presided over a racketeering trial involving of members of the Hells Angels. He and his family required protection by the United States Marshals due to threats he received.

Conti presided over a copyright infringement trial in 1988, in which John Fogerty was sued by his former label, Fantasy Records, over his 1984 song "The Old Man Down the Road", which they claimed infringed the copyright of his Credence Clearwater Revival song "Run Through the Jungle". Part of Fogerty's defense involved performing both songs in court for the jury, who found in his favor.

In 2008, Conti ruled that military veterans suing over delayed mental health treatment from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs had no recourse in the courts for their complaint, because systemic error was not proven. He suggested that he was unhappy to have reached that conclusion, and was privately disappointed when his ruling was upheld on appeal.

Personal life and death

Conti was married to his wife, Dolores, for 66 years. The couple had three children.

In retirement, Conti lived in Carlsbad, California, and died at home on August 29, 2018, at the age of 96.

See also

• List of United States federal judges by longevity of service

Sources

• Samuel Conti at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.