Roger Thomas Foley
Quick Facts
Biography
Roger Thomas Foley (May 25, 1886 – October 9, 1974) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Sioux City, Iowa, he graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1910 and was in private practice in Goldfield, Nevada from 1911 to 1925, and in Los Angeles, California from 1925 to 1928. He was a district attorney for Goldfield from 1916 to 1924. He was a justice of the peace and municipal judge in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1929 to 1931. He was a deputy district attorney of Las Vegas from 1932 to 1934, then district attorney of Las Vegas from 1935 to 1938. He was a Nevada state district judge for Clark and Lincoln Counties from 1939 to 1941, returning to private practice Las Vegas from 1941 to 1945.
On March 30, 1945, Foley was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Nevada vacated by Frank H. Norcross. Foley was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 10, 1945, and received his commission on May 2, 1945. He served as chief judge from 1954 to 1957, assuming senior status on April 1, 1957, and serving thereafter until his death. His son, Roger D. Foley, also served as a federal judge on the same court. The Foley Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Las Vegas is named for the family, as a whole.