Born: March 19, 1932
Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Died: September 9, 2007
Washington, D.C.

John Garrett Penn

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Nominated by Jimmy Carter on January 19, 1979, to a seat vacated by Joseph C. Waddy. Confirmed by the Senate on March 21, 1979, and received commission on March 23, 1979. Served as chief judge, 1992-1997. Assumed senior status on March 31, 1998. Service terminated on September 9, 2007, due to death.

Other Federal Judicial Service:

Judge, District of Columbia Court of General Sessions, 1970-1971
Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, 1971-1979

Education:

Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (now Princeton School of Public and International Affairs)
University of Massachusetts, A.B., 1954
Boston University School of Law, LL.B., 1957

Artist
Simmie Knox (1935-) a native of Washington, D.C., Knox graduated from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia and has specialized in portraits since 1981. Knox exhibited as an abstract artist and worked for the Museum of African Art in Washington D.C. during the 1970s. His abstract art was displayed in the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1971. After years of painting abstract and other art forms, Knox turned full time to portraiture. His commissions feature entertainers, educators, military officers, judges, and private individuals and include Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1989, Senator Verda Welcome in 1990, Senator Herman Holloway in 1995, and Muhammad Ali in 1995. Perhaps Knox’s most notable commission was to paint the official portait of President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton, unveiled in 2004.

Today, Knox’s work is held in private collections, the U.S. Senate, the White House, and schools, museums, and courthouses across the country.

Professional Career:

U.S. Army, JAG Corps, 1958-1961
General Litigation Section, Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1961-1970; trial attorney, 1961-1965; reviewer, 1965-1968; assistant chief, 1968-1970
Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 1992-1997

Judges of the D.C. Circuit Courts