Howard C. Bratton

Howard C. Bratton (February 4, 1922 – May 5, 2002) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Clovis, New Mexico, Bratton received a B.A. from the University of New Mexico in 1941. and was in the United States Army for the remainder of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. He received an LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1947, and after spending a year as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1948, he was in private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1949 to 1952. He was also a special assistant to the United States Attorney in charge of litigation, OPS from 1951 to 1952. He returned to private practice in Roswell, New Mexico from 1952 to 1964.
On March 3, 1964, Bratton was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico vacated by Waldo H. Rogers. Bratton was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 14, 1964, and received his commission on March 17, 1964. He served as chief judge from 1978 to 1987, assuming senior status on February 4, 1987. Bratton served in that capacity until his death, in 2002.