Dickinson R. Debevoise

Dickinson Richards Debevoise (April 23, 1924 – August 14, 2015) was a United States Senior District Judge on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. He was born in Orange, New Jersey.

Debevoise was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on February 23, 1978, and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 31, 1979. He served on the committee that revised the general (i.e., local) rules of the district court in 1984. He was on senior status beginning May 1, 1994. His former chambers are located in the Martin Luther King, Jr., United States Courthouse and Federal Building in Newark, New Jersey. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was in private practice in Newark, New Jersey, from 1953-79. He was formerly a partner in the firm now known as Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti LLP. A graduate of Williams College (class of 1946) and Columbia Law School (class of 1951), he began his legal career as a law clerk to United States District Judge Phillip Forman.

Debovoise presided over the arraignment of Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski in 1996. He served as a Sergeant in the United States Army during World War II, where he participated in D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and occupation of Berlin. He later went on to serve as a lieutenant during the Korean War. He and his wife Katrina had four daughters.