Elmer Gordon West

Elmer Gordon West (November 17, 1914 – November 2, 1992) served as a United States federal judge (Chief Judge) for the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Middle District of Louisiana.

Born in Hyde Park, Massachusetts, West received a B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1941 and an LL.B. from Louisiana State University Law School in 1942. West was active duty with the United States Navy from July 5, 1942 until October 30, 1945, having served aboard a sub-chaser in the Mediterranean Theatre of operations during World War II. He was released to inactive duty as full lieutenant.

West was an attorney for the Louisiana State Department of Revenue from 1945 to 1946, and was an inheritance tax collector for the State of Louisiana from 1948 to 1952. In 1946, West opened the law firm of Long & West, with soon to be Senator Russell Long. At LSU, West met Russell Long. Both men served in the Navy during World War II. According to West, "[d]uring the invasion of Sicily, my ship hit a mine. We were torn up pretty bad. We came back; the ship was half underwater. They towed us back to northern Africa. I got a message that another ship was going to have a moving picture in their hold." West went on to say, "[t]he picture had already started. When I got down to the hold of the ship my eyes got acclimated to the dark and I looked around, and two seats down was Russell Long. Well, as far as we both were concerned, that far away from home, anyone from home really looked good. And so that was the beginning of our real wonderful friendship. Russell and I became such very good friends, and when we got out we decided to go into law practice together. So, we formed the firm of Long and West in January 1946."

In 1950, West became a member of the the firm Kantrow & West, which ultimately became Kantrow, Spaht, West & Klienpeter, and he remained in general active practice until September 5, 1961.

On September 5, 1961, West was nominated by President John F. Kennedy to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana created by 75 Stat. 80. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 1961, and received his commission on September 15, 1961. He served as chief judge from 1967 to 1972. West served in that capacity until April 16, 1972, when he was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. Judge West was the driving force behind the creation of the Middle District of Louisiana. In that regard, he served as the first Judge in the Middle District of Louisiana. He served as chief judge of that court from 1978 to 1979, assuming senior status on November 27, 1979. West served in that capacity until 1992.

Judge West was widely praised for his protection of the rights of prisoners in litigation challenging the constitutionality of conditions of confinement in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. In 1975, Judge West ruled that Angola prison conditions "shocked the conscience" and entered an injunction designed to improve the penitentiary and decentralize the Louisiana prison system. The Fifth Circuit affirmed, remanding for determination of specific inmate population and security staffing requirements. Williams v. Edwards, 547 F.2d 1206 (5th Cir. 1977). The Angola Museum website intimates that Judge West's order resulted eventually in quadrupling the number of security guards; major facilities renovations, including construction of four new camps; and improved rehabilitative efforts and prisoner medical care at Angola.

Senior U.S. District Judge E. Gordon West died on November 2, 1992. Upon his death, Senator Long stated, "The Lord never made a better man that Gordon West. He was fair, hard working and had a heart that was compassionate to all." U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola remarked that Judge West was one of the "most scholarly judges I ever met...there was no question that he had a very strong belief in the Constitution.

Sources

• Elmer Gordon West at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.