Joseph Tyree Sneed, III

Joseph Tyree Sneed III (July 21, 1920 – February 9, 2008) was an American jurist who served as United States Deputy Attorney General and then as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for nearly 35 years until his death. He was the father of Carly Fiorina, a former CEO of Hewlett-Packard.

Early life and education

Joseph Tyree Sneed III was born on July 21, 1920, in Calvert, Texas. He was the son of Cara Carlton (Weber) and Harold Marvin Sneed (January 6, 1883 – Dec 27, 1934), a rancher and landowner. Joseph P. Sneed is his great-great-grandfather. He spent his youth working summers as a cowboy on his uncle's ranch in the Texas Panhandle.

Judicial service

Sneed was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat vacated (formerly occupied) by Judge Frederick George Hamley on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on July 25, 1973.

Sneed was part of a three-judge panel that replaced Whitewater special prosecutor Robert B. Fiske with Kenneth Starr in 1994.

Personal life

Sneed married Madelon Montross Juergens in 1944.