Emile Henry Lacombe

Emile Lacombe
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office June 16, 1891 – February 15, 1916
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Charles Hough
Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit
In office May 26, 1887 – June 16, 1891
Appointed by	Grover Cleveland
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Personal details
Born	January 29, 1846 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	November 28, 1924 (aged 78) New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Columbia University

Emile Henry Lacombe (January 29, 1846 – November 28, 1924) was a judge in the United States.

Lacombe obtained his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1865. He engaged in the private practice of law in New York for many years. He also served as a New York City Assistant Corporation Counsel from 1874 to 1884 and then as Corporation Counsel (the city's chief attorney) from 1884 to 1887.

In 1887, President Grover Cleveland appointed Lacombe to serve on the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit, headquartered in New York. In 1893, when Ny Look a Chinese Civil War veteran was arrested for not registering under the Geary Act which required all unregistered Chinese to be arrested and deported, Lacombe ruled in In re Ny Look that there were no deportation provisions in the law and Look could not be detained indefinitely therefore he should be released.^[1]

After Congress passed the Evarts Act establishing the United States Courts of Appeals, Lacombe's judgeship was reassigned to the Appeals Court. Lacombe served as an appellate judge on the Second Circuit until 1916, when he retired and returned to private practice. He died in 1924 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Morristown, New Jersey.

Lacombe wrote a letter to the New York Times advancing a conspiracy theory about the German sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. His letter was published Monday October 22, 1917 on page 14 titled "A NEW THEORY OF THE LUSITANIA SINKING. The Evidence of the German Medal Dated May 5 and the Report of the Explosive "Cigars" on Board."^[2]

References

1. “The Ny Look Case,” Washington Post, May 28, 1893, p. 4; “The Ny Look Test Case,” New York Times, May 26, 1893, p. 4; In re Ny Look, C.C. New York (1893), 56 Fed. 81; “Notes on Recent Decisions,” Minnesota Law Journal vol. 1, no. 4 (August 1893), 86.
2. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A01E6D6103AE433A25751C2A9669D946696D6CF

• Emile Henry Lacombe at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.