Federal appeals Judge Robert Chapman dead at 91

(AP) Federal appeals court Senior Judge Robert F. Chapman died April 18 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was 91.

Fellow Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Chapman played no favorites and his judging was “straight and true.”

Chapman was born in Inman, South Carolina. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1945 and served in the U.S. Navy. He attended the University of South Carolina Law School and worked in a private law practice until his appointment as a federal judge.

He was appointed by President Richard Nixon to the South Carolina U.S. District Court in 1971. President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the 4th Circuit in 1981. He assumed senior status in 1991.