Richard Johnson Putnam

Richard Johnson Putnam (September 27, 1913 – December 16, 2002) was a United States federal judge.

Born in Abbeville, Louisiana, Putnam received a B.S. from Spring Hill College in 1934 and an LL.B. from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 1937. He was in private practice in Abbeville, Louisiana from 1937 to 1954. He was a U.S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. He was a District attorney of Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Louisiana from 1948 to 1954. He was a judge on the Fifteenth Judicial District of Louisiana from 1954 to 1961. He was a judge on the Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit from 1960 to 1961.

Putnam was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Putnam was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on September 5, 1961, to a new seat created by 75 Stat. 80. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 1961, and received his commission on September 18, 1961. He assumed senior status on December 19, 1975. Putnam served in that capacity until his death, in Abbeville, Louisiana.

Sources

• Richard Johnson Putnam at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.