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From Federal Court To the Tennis Court

Former judge Kennedy enjoys playing at Oglebay

Photo by Cody Tomer Former federal judge Henry Kennedy Jr. participated in the Jack Dorsey Memorial Senior Open Category II Championships at Oglebay Park on Friday.

WHEELING–He is the most interesting man at Oglebay Park.

His journey from the federal court to the tennis court is just part of what has made retired federal judge Henry Kennedy Jr.’s life so fascinating.

The 70-year-old Kennedy worked as a judge on the United States District Court of the District of Columbia after serving on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

He also served as a magistrate for the United States District Court of the District of Columbia.

He has done it all. In fact, Kennedy has met both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

Kennedy’s sister was classmates at Princeton with First Lady Michelle Obama and their friendship grew strong, which gave Kennedy the opportunity to have dinner at the White House with President Obama.

“My sister was Michelle Obama’s bestfriend,” Kennedy said. “Thanks to her, I had the chance to have a steak dinner at the White House, where I met President Obama.”

Kennedy, who received his undergraduate degree at Princeton and attended law school at Harvard, served as a judge on many interesting cases over the years and he remembers every detail.

“My last cases of note on the Federal Bench were ones brought by Detainees in Guantanamo Bay Cuba,” Kennedy said. “That was an unusual case.

“Before that, one of my most interesting cases had to do with the immiscibility of DNA evidence in criminal cases.

“I’ll never forget that Lance Allan Ito kept calling my chambers during the O.J. Simpson trial, to hear my decision on the DNA case. Initially, Simpson didn’t want the judge to omit DNA evidence on grounds that it was not accepted into scientific community.

“When I made my decision, Simpson dropped his line of attack and said that the evidence in his case was tainted by the way it was handled at the crime scene.”

Following Kennedy’s interesting 36-year career in the Federal Courts, he now travels the country and sometimes to other countries, doing what he loves the most. Playing tennis.

“I loved the work,” Kennedy said. “Now, I am retired and I am pursuing my passion of competitive tennis. I go around the country and sometimes out of the country to do what I do.”

Kennedy first picked up a racket at a young age, when his first sport of choice didn’t fair so well.

“I started playing tennis because my father was disappointed in my performance in swimming,” Kennedy said. “I was the best swimmer in Washington, D.C., but when I competed against others from around the country, some of whom were trying to make the Olympics, I didn’t do so well.

“He told me to try another sport, so he bought me a tennis racket and a can of balls and the rest is history.”

Kennedy had a strong showing at the Jack Dorsey Memorial Senior Open Category II Championships at Oglebay Park in the last two days.

On opening day of the event, Kennedy defeated Tim Sullivan by scores of 6-2, 6-7(5) and 6-3 in the 65 Singles bracket and also won his 70 Singles match with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory over William Gordon.

On Friday, Kennedy upended James Hendrix by a 6-2, 6-2 final to advance to today’s semifinal round in the 70 Singles at 9 a.m.

As Kennedy has fallen in love with the sport of tennis, he has also fallen for the beauty of Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

“This is an important tournament for competitive players,” Kennedy said. “I have played here at least four times and I tell everybody that it’s one of the most beautiful parks that I’ve ever seen and I’ve been to a lot of places.

“I’ve been to Japan, Austrailia, Ireland, Europe and Paris but none of them surpasses this place for it’s natural beauty. It’s great and I love it here.

“I can’t emphasize enough just how nice this tournament is. On our tour, this is known as one of the nicest places to go.”

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