Robert R. Merhige, Jr.

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Robert R. Merhige Jr. (February 5, 1919-February 18, 2005), was a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia who is known for his rulings on desegregation in the 1970s.

Born in New York City, Merhige attended High Point College in North Carolina and received his law degree from the T.C. Williams School of Law in 1942. He served in the Army Air Forces in World War II.

On July 17, 1967, he was appointed as a federal judge by President Lyndon Johnson. On August 18, 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment. Merhige ordered dozens of Virginia's school systems to desegregate. Merhige also ruled in 1968 that the conflict in Vietnam was a war, whether or not it was a declared war.

Merhige retired in 1998 and joined the law firm of Hunton & Williams in Richmond, Virginia.

Merhige died at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia after undergoing open heart surgery.