Francis Ryan Duffy (June 23, 1888 – August 16, 1979) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He served for the last 30 years of his life as a judge of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (1949–1979). He served as chief judge of the 7th Circuit from 1954 to 1959, and took senior judge status in 1966.
Before his service on the Court of Appeals, Duffy served one term as United States senator from Wisconsin, elected on the Democratic Party ticket and serving from 1933 to 1939. After he was defeated for re-election in the 1938 election, he was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and served for ten years in that role until his elevation to the Court of Appeals in 1949 by President Harry S. Truman.
Education and career
Born on June 23, 1888, in Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Duffy attended the public schools. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1910 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Bachelor of Laws in 1912 from the University of Wisconsin Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1912. He was in private practice of law in Fond du Lac from 1912 to 1917, from 1919 to 1933, and in 1939. He served in the United States Army during World War I from 1917 to 1919, attaining the rank of Major. He was United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1933 to 1939.
Congressional service
Duffy was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1939. He served during the 73rd, 74th and 75th United States Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1938. Following his departure from the Senate, he briefly resumed the private practice of law. He served as Chief Judge and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1954 to 1959. He assumed senior status on June 30, 1966. His service terminated upon his death.