Appeals Court Gets 1st Negro, Law '33

William H. Hastie LL.B. '33, a 45 year old Law School graduate from Knoxville, Tennessee, was sworn in Thursday as the first Negro judge of a United States District Court of Appeals.

Hastie received an interim appointment to the bench of the Third District Court of Philadelphia. Although the appointment by President Truman is subject to confirmation at the next session of the Senate, Hastie sat with the full bench yesterday on his first case.

Hastie is a former District Judge of the Virgin Islands and has been governor of the Islands for the past three and a half years.