Peter T. Fay

Peter Thorp Fay (January 18, 1929 – January 31, 2021) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He was previously a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. At the time of his death, he was one of 26 federal judges to have served for fifty years.

Early life and career Fay was born in Rochester, New York, on January 18, 1929. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951 from Rollins College. He served in the United States Air Force as a lieutenant from 1951 to 1953, before attending the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1956. Fay was in private practice in Miami, Florida from 1956 to 1970. Fay practiced at Patton & Kanner in 1956, Nichols, Gaither, Green, Frates & Beckham from 1956 to 1961, and Frates, Fay, Floyd & Pearson from 1961 to 1970.

Federal judicial service Fay was nominated by Richard Nixon to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on October 7, 1970, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 13, 1970, and received his commission three days later. Fay delivered an address to the Conference of Chief Justices in August 1973. He discussed state–federal issues, specifically the proposal of having state and federal judges sitting together on a case in order to save time and judicial resources. Fay's service terminated on October 8, 1976, due to elevation to the Fifth Circuit.

The New York Times reported in February 2015 that potential Republican Party 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush lobbied his father, George H. W. Bush, to appoint Fay to the Supreme Court of the United States. The younger Bush did this in a letter sent on August 7, 1989.

Later life Even after becoming a senior judge, Fay expressed his intention not to retire. Several months before his death, he became only the 26th federal judge to serve fifty years in that capacity.

Fay died on January 31, 2021, in South Miami-Dade, at the age of 92.