Roger Robb

Roger Robb (July 7, 1907 – December 19, 1985) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, anti-communist, and trial attorney. He served as special counsel to an Atomic Energy Commission hearing that led to revocation of J. Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance in 1954.

Early life and education Robb was born in Bellows Falls, Vermont, the son of Court of Appeals Judge Charles Henry Robb and Nettie M. (George) Robb. He received a BA degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Yale University in 1928.

Career Robb was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1938 to 1969.

Robb was special counsel to the Atomic Energy Commission at an AEC hearing on the loyalty of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project. Over the course of four weeks, Robb and the AEC panel interrogated Oppenheimer and other witnesses on his past affiliations with Communists, with Robb operated with ruthless, aggressive prosecutorial tactics which were described by legal historians and biographers widely as an abuse of administrative power. One observer commented that Robb "did not treat Oppenheimer as a witness in his own case, but as a person charged with high treason." The board ultimately voted 2–1 to strip Oppenheimer of his security clearance.

In 1969, Robb represented Barry Goldwater in his libel suit against Ralph Ginzburg and Fact magazine, which had claimed that Goldwater was mentally unstable. The jury awarded Goldwater $1 in compensatory damages and $75,000 in punitive damages, which was upheld on appeal.

Federal judicial service Robb was nominated by President Richard Nixon on April 23, 1969, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by Judge John A. Danaher. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 5, 1969, and received his commission on May 6, 1969. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1982, and was succeeded by Judge Antonin Scalia. He served in this position until his death on December 19, 1985.

Jason Clarke played Robb in Christopher Nolan's 2023 film Oppenheimer.