John (Joseph) Sirica

Judge, born in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA. The son of an immigrant Italian barber, he studied at Georgetown Law School (1926), but tried his hand at boxing before setting up his law practice in Washington, DC. He moved between government law appointments and private practice before being appointed to the Federal bench by President Eisenhower in 1957. Becoming chief judge (1971), he assigned the Watergate burglary case to himself in 1973; during two years, he proceeded to push witnesses and lawyers to reveal the facts until he had effectively brought President Richard Nixon to resign in the face of impeachment. Although criticized by some for his often less than judicial manner and methods, he was upheld by the Court of Appeals and became a folk hero of sorts, called ‘the Watergate judge’. He retired from the Federal bench in 1986, an unassuming man who once found himself thrust under history's spotlight and rose to the occasion.

Judge John Joseph Sirica (March 19, 1904 – August 14, 1992) was the Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Sirica had a largely undistinguished career before Watergate. Author Joseph Goulden wrote a book about federal judges called The Benchwarmers and mentioned that many lawyers appearing in Sirica's courtroom thought little of him or his abilities as a judge. He rose to national prominence during the Watergate scandal when he demanded that President Richard Nixon turn over his recordings of White House conversations.

Sirica's involvement in the scandal began when he presided over the trial of the Watergate burglars. For his role in Watergate the judge was named TIME magazine's Man of the Year in 1973.

Sirica received his J.D.

Sirica published his account of the Watergate affair in 1979 under the title To Set the Record Straight.