William Marsh Acker, Jr. (born October 25, 1927) is a United States federal judge for the District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Acker was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and served in the United States Army as a private first class from 1946 to 1947. He received a B.A. from Birmingham-Southern College in 1949 and an LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1952. He was an attorney in private practice in Birmingham for thirty years, from 1952 to 1982.
Acker was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 22, 1982, to a seat vacated by Frank H. McFadden. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 18, 1982, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1996.
In 2005, Acker announced that he would not take clerks from Yale Law School because of that school's decision to refuse to permit military recruiters on campus.[1]
In 2007, Acker recommended that the U.S. Attorney charge Richard Scruggs and the Scruggs Law Firm with criminal contempt for leaking documents in violation of a court order; in 2008, he accused Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood of conspiring with Scruggs to skirt the court order.[2]
In 2008, Acker held the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act unconstitutional for imposing disproportionate punitive damages on defendants who cause no harm.[3]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frank H. McFadden |
Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama August 18, 1982 - May 31, 1996 |
Incumbent |