Harold
Herman Greene (born Heinz
Grünhaus, February 6, 1923 – January 29, 2000) was a United States district
judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Greene
was born Heinz Grünhaus in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1939 his family, who were
Jewish, fled the Nazi regime to Belgium, Vichy France, Portugal, and finally the United States in 1943, during World War II. Greene enlisted in the United States Army and
interrogated German prisoners for military intelligence.[1][2] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949 from George Washington
University and Juris Doctor in 1952 from George
Washington University Law School. From 1952 to 1953, Greene was
a law clerk for Judge Bennett Champ Clark of
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Next, Greene was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia until
1957 and chief of appeals research for the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division from
1957 to 1965.[2] At the Justice
Department, Greene helped create the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.[3] Greene was a judge of the Court of General
Sessions in Washington, D.C. from
1956 to 1966 and Chief Judge of that court until 1971, and Chief Judge of
the Superior
Court of the District of Columbia from 1971 to 1978. Greene was
nominated by President Jimmy Carter on March
22, 1978, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated
by Judge John Sirica. He was
confirmed by the United States Senate on
May 17, 1978, and received his commission on May 19, 1978. He assumed senior status on August 6, 1995. His service was
terminated on January 29, 2000, due to his death in Washington, D.C.