James Alger Fee

James Alger Fee (September 24, 1888 – August 25, 1959) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. A veteran of the United States Army, his first judicial position was with the Oregon Circuit Court. While a federal judge he made national news for his decision during World War II regarding the application of the exclusion orders that had forced those of Japanese heritage from the West Coast. Early life James Alger was born in Eastern Oregon in the city of Pendleton on September 24, 1888. He went to college in Walla Walla, Washington, at Whitman College. There he graduated with an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1910 and was a member of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He then moved to New York City, New York and earned a master's degree at Columbia University. After this Fee went on to law school at Columbia Law School, graduating in 1914 with a Bachelor of Laws. Career