Spottswood William Robinson III
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Spottswood William Robinson III (July 26, 1916 – November 2, 1998) was the first African-American to be appointed the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
He was born in Richmond, Virginia on July 26, 1916, and later attended Virginia Union University and then attended Howard University School of Law, graduating first in his class in 1939. He was a faculty member of the Howard University School of Law from his graduation in 1939 until 1947, and was one of the core attorneys of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 1948 to 1960. Through the NAACP LDF he worked on Brown v. Board of Education and Chance v. Lambeth. From 1960-1964 Robinson was Dean of the Howard University School of Law. He then served as a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 1961 to 1963. In 1964 he bcame the first African-American to be appointed the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. In 1966, Judge Robinson became the first African-American appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit when he was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson. On May 7, 1981, he became the first African American to serve as Chief Judge of the court. Judge Robinson took senior status in 1989 and later retired. He died in November of 1998.
[edit] Professional Career
- Faculty, Howard University School of Law, 1939-1948
- Private practice, Richmond, Virginia, 1943-1960
- Counsel / representative, Virginia NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 1948-1950
- Southeast regional counsel, NAACP, 1951-1960
- Professor / dean, Howard University School of Law, 1960-1963
- U.S. Commission of Civil Rights, 1961-1963
[edit] Reference
| Preceded by George Thomas Washington |
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 1966–1989 |
Succeeded by Arthur Raymond Randolph |
