Quick Facts
Biography
William Henry Sawtelle (August 27, 1868 – December 17, 1934) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Sawtelle read law in 1886 and was in private practice of law in Tuscumbia from 1886 to 1903. He was a solicitor for the 8th Judicial Circuit from 1892 to 1898, and for the 11th Judicial Circuit from 1898 to 1903. He was in private practice in Tucson, Arizona from 1903 to 1913.
On August 6, 1913, Sawtelle was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona vacated by Richard Elihu Sloan. Sawtelle was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 18 and received his commission the same day.
On January 8, 1931, President Herbert Hoover elevated Sawtelle to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by the death of Frank Dietrich. Sawtelle was again confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 22 and received his commission on January 29, 1931. He served over three years, until his accidental death at home at age 66 in 1934.
Note: The most complete article written on the life of Judge Sawtelle was by historian David Leighton, in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, on March 23, 2015. (see link below)