David Andrew Pine was a United States district court

United States district court

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

 judge.

Born in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, Pine earned an LL.B. at the Georgetown University Law School in 1913, then clerked for clerk to U.S. Attorney General James McReynolds from 1914 to 1916. He was an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice until 1917, when he entered the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 for two years, returning to the Justice Department in 1919. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1921–34, at which time he again returned to the Justice Department, eventually becoming the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia

United States Attorney for the District of Columbia

The United States Attorney for the District of Columbia is the United States Attorney responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.Because unlike typical municipalities, Washington, D.C...

 from 1938-40.

Pine was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 on March 15, 1940, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a federal district court. Appeals from the District are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a...

 vacated by Joseph Winston Cox

Joseph Winston Cox

Joseph Winston Cox was a United States federal judge.Born in Bridle Creek, Virginia, Cox received an LL.B. from George Washington University Law School in 1901. He was in private practice in Washington, DC from 1901 to 1930. He was an Instructor, Georgetown University Law School from 1913 to 1915....

. Pine was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on March 20, 1940, and received his commission on March 29, 1940. Among the cases which Pine presided over was a 1952 matter which eventually came before the United States Supreme Court as Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, , also commonly referred to as The Steel Seizure Case, was a United States Supreme Court decision that limited the power of the President of the United States to seize private property in the absence of either specifically enumerated authority under Article...

. In that case, Pine issued an injunction

Injunction

An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...

 barring the government from continuing to hold steel plants that it had seized on the order of Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

. Truman sought to avert a strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

 by steel workers which Truman asserted would harm the efforts of the United States in the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. Pine found this to exceed the power of the President, and the Supreme Court ultimately agreed with him, upholding the injunction.

Pine served as chief judge of that court from 1959–61, and assumed senior status

Senior status

Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...

 on April 2, 1965. He remained in service until his death.

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