Pierce Lively

Pierce Lively served as a judge for the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1972 to 2016. Lively was born on August 17, 1921 in Louisville, Kentucky. He received his bachelor's degree from Centre College in 1943 and then joined the US Naval Reserve, serving as a lieutenant junior grade until 1946. Following his time in the Naval Reserve, Lively earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1948. He then clerked for the Honorable Shackelford Miller Jr. for one year. In 1949, Lively set up private practice in Danville, Kentucky, where he remained for the next 23 years. On September 12, 1972, President Richard Nixon nominated Lively to the Sixth Circuit, to a seat vacated by Judge Henry Luesing Brooks. The Senate confirmed his nomination on October 3, 1972. During his years on the Court, Lively served as chief judge from 1983 to 1988 and was a member of the Judicial Conference from 1974 to 1988. Lively assumed senior status on January 1, 1989 and served in that capacity until his death on March 12, 2016.