Phyllis A. Kravitch

Phyllis Adele Kravitch (August 23, 1920 – June 15, 2017) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia.

Education and career

Kravitch was born in Savannah, Georgia, one of four daughters of Aaron Kravitch, an attorney, and Ella B. Wiseman, and was Jewish. She attended Armstrong Junior College in Savannah receiving an Associate of Arts degree in 1939. She later obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Goucher College in 1941. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1943, her father Aaron's alma mater (Law 1917).

Federal judicial service

Kravitch was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on January 19, 1979, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated by Judge Lewis Render Morgan. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 21, 1979, and received her commission on March 23, 1979, becoming the third woman to serve as a United States Circuit Judge. Her service terminated on October 1, 1981, due to reassignment. Her service terminated on June 15, 2017, due to her death at the Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.

Feeder judge

Four of Kravitch's law clerks went on to clerk at the United States Supreme Court, including Steven L. Chanenson, Beth Brinkmann, Joseph L. Hoffmann and Paul H. Schwartz.

Later years and death Kravitch assumed senior status on December 31, 1996.