Charles Mengel Allen

Charles Mengel Allen served as a judge for the Western District of Kentucky from 1971 to 2000. Allen was born in Louisville, Kentucky on November 22, 1916. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1941 and his law degree from the University of Louisville Law School in 1943. After graduation, Allen practiced law for one year before leaving for the Southwest, where he taught at the Arizona Desert School in Tucson, Arizona from 1945 to 1946. He returned to Louisville and to the practice of law in 1946, where he remained until 1961. During these years, Allen also served as the assistant US attorney for the Western District of Kentucky from 1955 to 1959 and as a judge for the Jefferson County Circuit Court from 1961 to 1971. On November 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon nominated Allen to serve as a judge for the Western District Court, to a seat vacated by Judge Henry L. Brooks. The Senate confirmed his nomination on November 23, 1971. He served as chief judge from 1977 to 1985. On October 1, 1985, Allen assumed senior status and served in that capacity until his death on January 4, 2000.