Harry Vearle Payne

Harry Vearle Payne (September 6, 1908 – July 20, 1983) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.

Education and career

Born in Colonia Dublán, Mexico, to a family of 15 children, Payne fled with his family to the United States to escape revolutionaries who were marauding across northern Mexico from 1910 to 1914, settling in Virden, New Mexico. Due to poverty that required him to work to help support the family, he did not graduate high school until age 23. He served many years in the New Mexico Legislature as a senator and state representative, and as Speaker of the House from 1945 to 1947.

Federal judicial service

On February 18, 1963, at the recommendation of New Mexico United States Senator Clinton Presba Anderson, Payne was nominated by President John F. Kennedy to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico vacated by Judge Carl Hatch. Payne was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 19, 1963, and received his commission on March 27, 1963. He served as Chief Judge from 1964 to 1978, assuming senior status on April 6, 1978, and serving in that capacity until his death on July 20, 1983.