Notable cases

Robb was the court-appointed attorney for Earl Browder, a leader of the Communist Party, in a Contempt of Congress case in 1950, earning praise from Browder despite their political differences. He also successfully defended Otto Otepka, a former State Department official accused of giving unauthorized material to a Senate committee.^[2]

Robb was special counsel to the Atomic Energy Commission at an AEC hearing on the loyalty of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project. Over the course of four weeks, Robb and the AEC panel interrogated Oppenheimer and other witnesses on his past affiliations with Communists, with Robb using harsh prosecutorial tactics. One observer commented that Robb "did not treat Oppenheimer as a witness in his own case, but as a person charged with high treason." The board ultimately voted 2–1 to strip Oppenheimer of his security clearance.^[3]

In 1969, Robb represented Barry Goldwater in his libel suit against Ralph Ginzburg and Fact magazine, which had claimed that Goldwater was mentally unstable. The jury awarded Goldwater $1 in compensatory damages and $75,000 in punitive damages, which was upheld on appeal.^[4][5]

Federal judicial service

Robb was nominated by President Richard Nixon on April 23, 1969, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by Judge John A. Danaher. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 5, 1969, and received his commission on May 6, 1969. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1982, and was succeeded by Judge Antonin Scalia. His service was terminated when he died on December 19, 1985.^[1]