John M. Walker, Jr.

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John Mercer Walker, Jr.
Judge John M. Walker, Jr.
Born
Occupation	Judge

John Mercer Walker, Jr. (born December 26, 1940), a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a cousin of U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. At the time of his appointment to the court in 1989, he was a United States District Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was Chief Judge of the Second Circuit from October 1, 2000, until October 1, 2006, when he assumed senior status.

1 Personal
2 Career
3 Fatal traffic accident
4 References

[edit] Personal

Walker graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1958, and received his B.A. from Yale University in 1962 and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1966.

Walker is married with a daughter and three stepsons. He is the son of Dr. John Mercer Walker, Sr. and Elsie Louise Mead. His uncle is George Herbert Walker, Jr., cofounder of the New York Mets. He is a first cousin of U.S. President George H.W. Bush, the two having a grandfather in common, George Herbert Walker. He is also a first cousin, once removed, of U.S. President George W. Bush.

[edit] Career

Walker served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves from 1963 until 1967. From 1966 until 1968, he was State Counsel to the Republic of Botswana under the aegis of an Africa-Asia Public Service Fellowship. Walker was a private law practitioner in New York City from 1969 to 1970. From 1970 to 1975 he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division, Southern District of New York. In 1975 he returned to private law practice with the New York firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, where he was initially an associate and later a partner. In 1981 Walker became Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, responsible for policy in law enforcement, regulatory, and trade matters, and with oversight of the Customs Service, Secret Service, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Walker remained in this position until 1985, when he became a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Walker has served as Special Counsel to the U.S. Administrative Conference (1987-1992); president of the Federal Judges’ Association (1993-1995); and member of the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States (1991-1999). He has been a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School since 2000; an Adjunct Professor at NYU Law School since 1996; and Director and on the faculty of NYU Law School’s Institute of Judicial Administration and Appellate Judges Seminar since 1992. Walker has also been a Director of the U.S. Association of Constitutional Law since 1997.

His former law clerks include James Comey (former Deputy Attorney General of the United States) and Ethan Leib.

[edit] Fatal traffic accident

On the evening October 17, 2006, as he began his drive home to Madison, Connecticut, Walker's car struck a police officer named Daniel Picagli with a Ford Escape on Chapel Street in New Haven, Connecticut according to the New Haven Police Department. The officer, who was dressed in dark clothing and may have been wearing reflective gear, was directing traffic at a road construction site in rush hour at dusk in the rain.^[1] There were no construction signs or traffic cones marking off the site. ^[2] Picagli died four days later on October 21, 2006.^[3] New Haven police have said the cause was not related to drugs or alcohol, but are investigating whether speed could have been a factor.^[4]