Justice Arthur Donald Spatt, a native of Brooklyn, earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1949. He was thereafter engaged in private practice in New York City until he joined the bench in 1978.
Spatt served as a Justice of the State Supreme Court for the Tenth Judicial District from 1978 until 1982. For the next four years he served as Administrative Judge for Nassau County, and in 1986 he was designated as an Associate Justice for the Appellate Division, Second Department. Spatt left the Appellate Division when, in October 1989, President George H. W. Bush nominated him as a Judge for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District. His appointment was confirmed later that year and he assumed senior status in 2004.
Additionally, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a Navigation Petty Officer.
Sources
“Biographical Directory of Federal Judges: Spatt, Arthur Donald.” History of the Federal Judiciary. Federal Judicial Center. Web. 16 July 2012. http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=2248.