Frank Albert Picard

Frank Picard

Picard cropped from 1911 Michigan team photograph
Date of birth	October 19, 1889
Place of birth	Saginaw, Michigan
Date of death	February 28, 1963 (age 73)
Career information
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Michigan
Career history
As player
1909–1911	Michigan

Frank Albert Picard (October 19, 1889–February 28, 1963) was an American attorney, political figure, and federal judge from Michigan. He also played college football as a quarterback of the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1909 to 1911.

Picard was born in Saginaw, Michigan, one of 12 children of Alfred and Zepherine (Lagault) Picard. At an early age he hoped to become an acrobat, joining his brothers who performed as the "Flying Picards" to circus audiences. Picard's father, a hotelkeeper, disapproved and put an end to his sons' circus act. Picard attended Saginaw High School, where he was a member of the student council and captain of the football team. After graduating from high school, Picard worked as a journalist on the Saginaw Daily News and Courier Herald, and was managing editor of the Saginaw Exponent.

Picard received an LL.B. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1912 and was admitted to the bar the same year. He was an assistant prosecuting attorney of Saginaw County, Michigan in 1913 before commencing private practice in Saginaw.

In May 1917, after four years in private practice, Picard entered the United States Army, where he held the rank of captain and saw action in France. In 1919, Picard returned to Saginaw and resumed private practice. In 1920 he ran for the Lieutenant Governor of Michigan but was defeated. On June 8, 1921, Picard married Ruth Caroline Doersan of Saginaw. They had four children, two boys and two girls.

Picard served a city attorney of Saginaw from 1924 to 1928. From 1931 to 1934, Picard served as the first chairman of the Liquor Control Commission. Picard unsuccessfully ran as the Democrat nominee for the Senate in the 1934 election. He lost to incumbent Republican Arthur H. Vandenberg, 51.3 to 47 percent. In 1936 Picard was elected as a delegate from the Michigan's 8th congressional district to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

On February 9, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Picard to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, to a new seat created by 52 Stat. 584. Confirmed by the United States Senate on February 16, 1939, he received his commission on February 23, 1939.

He served as chief judge from August 6, 1959, until 1959. Among Picard's decisions was the Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., dealing with a pottery factory in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Known as the "portal-to-portal overtime case," the decision was heard by the Supreme Court in 1946.

Picard assumed senior status on March 31, 1959 and remained on the bench until his death in Saginaw on February 28, 1963. He is interred at Oakwood Mausoleum.

Sources

• Frank Albert Picard at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Biography from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit