Kenneth Keller Hall

Kenneth Keller "K.K." Hall (February 24, 1918 – July 8, 1999) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and was previously a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Kenneth Keller Hall
Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
In office February 24, 1998 – July 8, 1999
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
In office September 3, 1976 – February 24, 1998
Appointed by	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	John A. Field Jr.
Succeeded by	Robert Bruce King
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
In office December 6, 1971 – September 26, 1976
Appointed by	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	John A. Field Jr.
Succeeded by	John Thomas Copenhaver Jr.
Personal details
Born	Kenneth Keller Hall (1918-02-24)February 24, 1918 Greenview, West Virginia
Died	July 8, 1999(1999-07-08) (aged 81) Charleston, West Virginia
Spouse	Gerry Tabor
Education	New River State (attended) Morris Harvey College (attended) West Virginia University College of Law (JD)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Service years	1944–1946
Rank	Lieutenant
Conflict	World War II

Education and career

Born in Greenview, West Virginia. He graduated from Scott High School, where he was the captain of the football team. He attended New River State College and Morris Harvey College. He moved to Washington, D.C. and worked a government employee in civil service. He served in the United States Naval Reserve during the World War II era, from 1942 to 1945 and was discharged as a lieutenant. He received a Juris Doctor from West Virginia University College of Law in 1948, and was in private practice in Madison, West Virginia from 1948 to 1953, also serving as Mayor of Madison from 1949 to 1952. He was a judge of the West Virginia 25th Judicial Circuit in Madison from 1953 to 1969, returning to private practice there from 1969 to 1970. He was a Hearing Examiner for the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals of the Social Security Administration in Charleston, West Virginia from 1970 to 1971.

Federal judicial service

Hall was nominated by President Richard Nixon on November 22, 1971, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia vacated by Judge John A. Field Jr. This was at the recommendation of Democratic Senator Robert Byrd and over the objection of the Republican West Virginia governor, Arch A. Moore Jr., who preferred a Republican candidate, John Thomas Copenhaver Jr. According to Moore biographer Brad Crouser, "Byrd normally was a guest in Judge Hall's home when he ran for congress and thereafter, and it was pay-back time." Nixon, Crouser writes, "apparently felt he needed Byrd's vote in the Senate more than the allegiance of the West Virginia GOP, Arch Moore included."

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 1, 1971, and received his commission on December 6, 1971. His service was terminated on September 26, 1976, due to elevation to the Fourth Circuit.

Hall was nominated by President Gerald Ford on August 26, 1976, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated by Judge John A. Field Jr. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 1, 1976, and received his commission on September 3, 1976. He assumed senior status on February 24, 1998. His service was terminated on July 8, 1999, due to his death in Charleston.

Sources

• Kenneth Keller Hall at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.