Born on April 23, 1924, in Orange, New Jersey,[1] Debevoise received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College in 1948.
He was in the United States Army as a Sergeant from 1943 to 1945, participating in D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge and the occupation of Berlin.
A law clerk for Judge Phillip Forman of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 1952 to 1953, he was in private practice of law in Newark, New Jersey, from 1953 to 1979.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 31, 1979, and received his commission on November 2, 1979.
[3][4] He was the judge in the 1981 civil lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee against the Republican National Committee alleging violations of the Civil Rights Act in the New Jersey gubernatorial election.