Howard J. Markey

*(Howard Thomas Markey was the first chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the first judge to sit with every one of the 13 circuit courts of appeal across the country. Judge Markey served from 1972 to 1991, where from 1972 until 1982 was chief judge of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, and from 1982 until 1990 he was chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He retired from the bench in 1991, and became Dean of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
He was known to have a great sense of humor, a keen ability to focus on the turning point of the cases before him, and had a tremendous amount of energy. As a much admired speaker, he was known to have a nearly endless supply of lawyer and judge jokes. As for his ability to focus in on certain specifics of the cases before him, he once stated that “every trial can be simplified down to one word which determines the outcome”.
His judicial reputation was matched by his ability to be an effective manager as chief judge. He streamlined processes and reduced the backlog of cases that were pending. He also was know to be seminal in unifying federal law in the areas of international trade, patent, trademark, government contract and copyright infringement cases, which were oftentimes different depending on which part of the country in which your lawsuit was pending.
Born in Chicago, he joined the Army Air Forces during World War II, where he became an “Ace” fight pilot. Later, he became a test pilot, flying P-38s and P-59 jets in extreme cold-weather situations. He also flew missions during the Korean War, and was the planner for the Korean Airlift Operation. He retired as a major general in the Air Force Reserve in 1976.
After World War II, he completed a joint undergraduate and law degree from Chicago's Loyola University, and then completed a master's degree in patent law from Marshall Law School. After the Korean War, he returned to Chicago and worked in private practice and was a colleague with many well-known Chicago patent lawyers including Roy Olson and Robert Beart. In fact, during one conversation between Mr. Beart and Judge Markey, they discovered that during one particular operation of the Korean War, Beart was one of the marines landing on the beach during a beach landing exercise, while Markey was one of the supporting pilots flying overhead, yet they didn't meet until they both returned and became patent lawyers in Chicago.

Later in Judge Markey's career, he even manage to use his retirement in serving others by becoming Dean of his former law school, and inviting numerous Supreme Court Justices to come speak at the school. As an advocate for the poor, he also supported the establishment of the John Marshall Law School Patent Clinic, where students would assist indigent inventors with the patent process. Interestingly, the first inventor for the Clinic was Noel Alsbrook, who himself was a Tuskeegee Airman during World War II. During the award ceremony where Dean Markey was handing out certificates to all the students who worked on the project, Dean Markey commented on the tremendous respect that the white pilots of the Army Air Corps had for the Tuskeegee Airmen and the dangers they faced from repeated missions.

As testament to his sense of humor, he had the staff of the nursing home where he lived outside of Chicago call him "Judge" and "General" on alternating days.

He was known to have written over 5000 judicial opinions, over 400 published articles, and received numerous medals including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After his death on May 3, 2006, the Federal Court Building in Washington, D.C. was named in his honor, a fitting reminder of the many, many lives he touched and improved.)

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