Prettyman, E. Barrett (Elijah Barrett), 1891-1971

Elijah Barrett Prettyman (August 23, 1891 – August 4, 1971) was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Born on August 23, 1891, in Lexington, Virginia, Prettyman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1910 from Randolph–Macon College and an Artium Magister degree in 1911 from the same institution. He received a Bachelor of Laws in 1915 from Georgetown Law. He entered private practice in Hopewell, Virginia from 1915 to 1917. He was a United States Army Captain during World War I from 1917 to 1919. Although he was commissioned as an artillery captain, he also served as a judge advocate where he oversaw hundreds of courts-martial. He was a special attorney for the Bureau of Internal Revenue of the United States Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. and New York City, New York from 1919 to 1920. He was in private practice in Chicago, Illinois, Washington, D.C., and New York City from 1920 to 1933. He was general counsel for the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 1933 to 1934. He was corporation counsel for Washington, D.C. from 1934 to 1936. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. and Hartford, Connecticut from 1936 to 1945.

Prettyman was nominated by President Harry S. Truman on September 12, 1945, to an Associate Justice seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from June 25, 1948) vacated by Judge Justin Miller. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 24, 1945, and received his commission on September 28, 1945. He served as Chief Judge from 1958 to 1960. He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1959 to 1960. He assumed senior status on April 16, 1962. His service terminated on August 4, 1971, due to his death.


In March 1997, the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse was named in his honor. Years earlier, Prettyman had advocated the installment of the triangular 24-foot high monument, Trylon of Freedom, in front of the courthouse. Sculpted by Carl Paul Jennewein in 1954, the monument features excerpts and scenes from the nation’s founding documents. Prettyman Drive in Rockville, Maryland was also named in his honor.