Passing of Honorable Judge Lloyd D. George

October 7, 2020
PRESS RELEASE

It is with great sadness that we share with you that the Honorable Judge Lloyd D. George passed away this morning. Judge George was ninety years old.

Judge George devoted his life to his family and to serving his country and the rule of law. Born in Montpelier, Idaho, he was raised in Las Vegas. His passion for this city was readily apparent from his stories of his youth, which he was always willing to share. He graduated from Las Vegas High School and Brigham Young University, serving both institutions as a student body president. After earning his wings as a jet fighter pilot in the Air Force, he earned his law degree in 1961 from the University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley Law).

After law school, he returned to Las Vegas and he built a successful private law practice. His career as a federal jurist began in 1974 with his appointment to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan appointed Judge George as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Nevada. He served as the District Court’s chief judge from 1992 to 1997, and assumed senior status in 1997.
In 1996, Judge George was selected to represent the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and was also appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist to the Conference’s Executive Committee. Prior to his appointment to the Judicial Conference, he held membership for a number of years on three Judicial Conference committees and was the chair of two.

Judge George became a distinguished expert in the organization of the judiciary, and was eager to share his knowledge worldwide. While serving on the International Judicial Relations Committee from 1993-1997, Judge George and other judicial colleagues from various countries participated in numerous seminars in Eastern Europe and the nations of the former Soviet Union, lecturing on constitutional issues, court structure, and the critical importance of the rule of law. He continued this international service through 2015, annually hosting the educational visits to Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas of judicial colleagues from numerous countries.

Judge George authored articles on the administration of the federal judiciary, ethics and insolvency. For his public service, he won many awards, including the Brigham Young University Alumni Distinguished Service Award, the Notre Dame Club’s John C. Mowbray Humanitarian of the Year Award, the Judge D. Lowell & Barbara Jensen Public Service Award from his alma mater, the School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, and the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver Award.

The extent of Judge George’s public service is, perhaps, best reflected in an honor bestowed upon the entire District of Nevada: the naming of the federal courthouse, situated between the Fifth Street Elementary School and Las Vegas High School Judge George attended as a youth, as the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse.

Judge George will be remembered as a judges’ judge and a mentor to all of us on the federal bench. In honor of Judge George, the flags at the federal courthouses in Nevada will be flown at half-staff today and tomorrow.

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