Lane I. McClelland

Lane I. McClelland (born 1949) is a retired United States Coast Guard captain and military lawyer who serves as the Chief Judge of the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge McClelland is the first woman to serve as Chief Trial Judge of the Coast Guard and the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals.

Early life and education McClelland was born in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1949 and raised in Vestal, New York, where most of her extracurricular activities were in music. She attended Cornell University and became a chimesmaster, proficient at playing the 18-bell chime in the library tower, a well-known feature of the campus. She graduated from Cornell University in 1970 with a degree in mechanical engineering. She went on to receive MBA and law degrees in 1973 and 1974 from Cornell. In 1992, she became the first active duty woman since SPARS to be promoted to the rank of captain. In 1993, she became the first woman assigned as Chief Trial Judge of the Coast Guard. She served as Chief of the Coast Guard Office of Claims and Litigation from June 1997 to December 2000, while serving part-time as a judge on the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals from 1 July 1997 to 18 January 2001. After acting as the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard beginning in December 2000, McClelland retired from active duty in March 2002.

Chief Judge of the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals Upon retiring from active duty in the United States Coast Guard, McClelland became a civilian employee of the Coast Guard Hearing Office, serving as a Hearing Officer adjudicating civil penalties for violations of Coast Guard administered laws. She began serving for a second time as a judge on the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals in 2003, this time as a civilian, and has been designated as the Chief Judge of the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals since 2007.

Awards McClelland's awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal (3 awards), Coast Guard Achievement Medal, and the Expert Pistol Shot Medal.