Description:

Kennedy John 1917 - 1963 President Kennedy appoints Guam's first District Court Judge to a third term - also signed by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy
Rare Partly Engraved Document Signed "John F. Kennedy" as President and "Robert F. Kennedy" as Attorney General, 1 page, 19.5" x 15.75". Completed in calligraphy. Embossed gold paper seal of the Department of Justice affixed at left. Creases, else in fine condition.



In part, "Know Ye, That reposing special trust and confidence in the Wisdom, Uprightness, and Learning of Paul D. Shriver of Colorado I have nominated, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint him Judge of the District Court of Guam … for the term of eight years commencing with the date hereof…"


Presidential appointments signed by both John and Robert Kennedy are extremely rare and highly desirable.


Background


Located in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, Guam was ceded to the United States by Spain in the Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American War. Guam was transferred to U.S. Navy control by Executive Order of President McKinley. Hours after attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan captured Guam and occupied the territory for thirty months. The establishment of a civil government on Guam was envisioned by President Harry S. Truman who stated: "It is the announced aim of this Government to accord civil government and a full measure of civil rights to the inhabitants of its Pacific territories. The accomplishment of this objective will be furthered by the transfer of these territories to civilian administration and the enactment of organic legislation at the earliest practicable date." The 1950 Organic Act of Guam created a territorial court, the District Court of Guam, and vested it with original jurisdiction over cases arising under federal law and cases not transferred by the Guam Legislature to local courts, as well as appellate jurisdiction as to be determined by the Guam Legislature.


The first judge appointed to the District Court under the Organic Act was Paul D. Shriver, a native of Colorado. He served in Italy with the Military Government Division during World War II and for approximately four years prior to the appointment to the District Court judgeship in Guam, he served in the Philippines as General Counsel for the Philippine War Damage Commission. Shriver served two four-year terms as the District Judge for Guam. He was renominated to be Judge by President John F. Kennedy, who saw action in the Pacific in World War II, after Judge Eugene R. Gilmartin, appointed by President Eisenhower in 1958, died in office in 1961. Judge Shriver served until 1969.

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