[1] Whipple was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 25, 1967, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Judge Thomas Francis Meaney.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 12, 1967, and received his commission the same day.
He served as Chief Judge from 1974 to 1978 and was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1975 to 1978.
He assumed senior status on September 1, 1978 due to a certified disability, and continued in that capacity until his death.
[1] A resident of Sea Girt, New Jersey, Whipple died in nearby Red Bank, due to complications relating to heart surgery.