A Man for All Branches - Judge Frank M. Coffin of Maine

A biography of Frank M. Coffin, who was an important figure in Maine politics and served for 41 years as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The author, political scientist Richard J. Maiman, provides a detailed study of Coffin’s political career, drawing extensively on materials dealing with Maine politics, Congress, foreign aid, and the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He also makes liberal use of the burgeoning literature on federal court processes to help illuminate Coffin's judicial work.
Frank Coffin’s succession of activities preceding his court appointment – partnering with Edmund Muskie to revive Maine’s moribund Democratic party, serving two terms in Congress, running an impressive but unsuccessful campaign for governor, helping design and administer the Kennedy administration’s new foreign aid agency, serving as a diplomat in Paris – all would all be tales worth telling, even if he had not then gone on to even greater achievements as a federal appellate judge.
But Coffin did become a judge, and in doing so he also became one of a handful of people to serve in all three branches of the national government. The second half of the book documents how Judge Coffin, while scrupulously avoiding partisan politics, continued to apply the knowledge, skills, and perspectives that had served him well in politics and government.
During Coffin’s 11 years as chief circuit judge, his abilities as a small group leader contributed to his court’s high levels of both productivity and collegiality. This biography includes extensive reference to the judge’s personal journals. Intermittently before his judicial career, and then continuously throughout it, Frank Coffin kept daily journals in which he reported and reflected on virtually every aspect of his personal and professional life.