Background
Sear, Morey Leonard was born on February 26, 1929 in New Orleans. Son of William and Yetty (Streiffer) Sear.
Sear, Morey Leonard was born on February 26, 1929 in New Orleans. Son of William and Yetty (Streiffer) Sear.
Juris Doctor, Tulane University, 1950. Doctor of Laws (honorary), Tulane University, 1999.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Sear received a Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School in 1950. He was a Captain in the a United States Marine Corps from 1950 to 1952. He was an Assistant district attorney of Parish of Orleans, Louisiana from 1952 to 1955.
He was in private practice in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1955 to 1971, serving as special counsel to the New Orleans Aviation Board from 1956 to 1959.
Sear served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1971 to 1976. On March 30, 1976, Sear was nominated by President Gerald Ford to a seat on that court vacated by James A. Comiskey.
Sear was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6, 1976, and received his commission on May 7, 1976. In 1981, Sear presided over the three-month BriLab trial of Carlos Marcello, Aubrey West. Young, and Charles East. Roemer, II, on charges of conspiracy, racketeering, and mail, and wire fraud in a scheme to defraud the state through multimillion-dollar insurance contracts.
Roemer, the father of future Governor Buddy Roemer and Marcello, a New Orleans crime figure, were convicted and imprisoned for conspiracy, but Young, a former aide to Governor John Jay McKeithen and current staffer to then Lieutenant Governor Robert "Bobby" Freeman, was acquitted of all charges.
Sear later served as chief judge of the court, from 1992 to 1999, assuming senior status on October 31, 2000, and serving in that capacity until his death, in New Orleans.
President Congregation Temple Sinai, 1977-1979. Board governors Tulane Medical Center, since 1977. Former chairman Tulane Medical Center Hospital and Clinic, 1980-1985.
Member American Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Association, New Orleans Bar Association, Order of Barristers, Order of the Coif (honorary).
Married Lee Edrehi, May 26, 1951. Children: William Sear II, Jane Lee.