STANLEY HARRIS

1927 - 2021

Judge Stanley S. Harris Died peacefully at his home on August 13, 2021, after a brief illness. He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Rebecca Ashley Harris, and by three sons and daughters-in-law, Scott (Lisa Klem), Todd (Kimmie) and Mark (Nelda). He is also survived by his sister, Sally H. Gooch and his brother, Richard S. Harris, and by eight grandchildren and many nephews, nieces and cousins.

Judge Harris was born on October 19, 1927, in Washington, DC. He was the first of three children of Stanley Raymond Harris and Elizabeth Sutherland Harris. His father, better known as Bucky, is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the player-manager for the Washington Senators baseball team that won the World Series in 1924. Bucky managed five major league baseball teams over a 29-year career, including 16 years in Washington. Some of Judge Harris's fondest memories were of childhood summers spent trailing his father to Griffith Stadium and sitting in the dugout for Senators games.

Judge Harris attended Horace Mann Elementary School, the Landon School, and Woodrow Wilson High School. He later served on Landon's Board of Trustees and was a recipient of its Distinguished Alumnus Award. After graduating from Wilson near the end of World War II, he spent two years in the Army, and then enrolled at the University of Virginia. While there, he played first base for the school's baseball team, and he was also a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Raven Society, Omicron Delta Kappa and the Thomas Jefferson Society. He then entered the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an Articles Editor for the Virginia Law Review.

Upon graduation from law school in 1953, he joined the law firm then known as Hogan & Hartson, where he served for 17 years as an associate and partner, specializing in communications and energy law. In 1971, he was nominated by President Nixon to fill a position on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 1972, he was appointed to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest local court in the city, where he served until 1982.

In February 1982, he was appointed to be the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. His most notable role in that position was his supervision of the prosecution of John Hinckley for the attempted assassination of President Reagan. But perhaps his proudest achievement there was the hiring of many Assistant United States Attorneys who went on to serve the interests of justice in the federal and local courts.

In August 1983, he received his fourth and final presidential appointment, this one to be a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and he served on that court until his retirement in July 2001. While a district judge, he also served for six years on the Judicial Conference Committee on Criminal Law, and for six years as the Chairman of the Judicial Conference Committee on Intercircuit Assignments.

He was a president of the Lawyers Club of Washington, and was a member and officer of the Barristers. He also served as President of the Capital Beltway Hockey League. And he was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (Post 7234, in Ocean View, Delaware), the Federalist Society, and the Chevy Chase Club.

He was a devoted and generous husband and father, always finding time be home for family dinner, to attend his sons' many childhood sporting events, and to offer wise advice on a wide range of topics. And while he was an extraordinarily accomplished lawyer and judge, what gave him the most pleasure in all of his professional activities were his many lasting friendships with fellow judges, lawyers and coworkers, and with the devoted law clerks who worked with him during his three decades of judicial service. He was a friend and mentor to many, and he will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.