Alexander Williams Jr. (born May 8, 1948) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Education and career

Born in Washington, D.C., Williams received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1970 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

in 1973. He was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge James H. Taylor, Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland from 1973 to 1974. He was in private practice in Hyattsville, Maryland and

Beltsville Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporated ...

, Maryland from 1974 to 1986, serving as a municipal attorney for Fairmount Heights from 1975 to 1987, and as a substitute juvenile master, Prince George's County Circuit Court (part-time) from 1976 to 1977. He was an Assistant public defender, Prince George's County Public Defender's Office from 1977 to 1978. He was a Special counsel and hearing examiner, Prince George's County Board of Education (part-time) from 1978 to 1987. He became a professor of law at Howard University from 1978 to 1989, continuing as an adjunct professor thereafter. He was a Municipal attorney of Glenarden from 1980 to 1987, and was then a State's attorney of Prince George's County from 1987 to 1994. Alexander Williams Jr. was the first African American elected to the office of State's Attorney in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Federal judicial service

On August 6, 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Williams to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland vacated by Judge Norman P. Ramsey. Williams was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 17, 1994, and received his commission on August 18, 1994. He took senior status on May 8, 2013. He retired from active service on January 3, 2014.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Alexander Jr. 1948 births Living people African-American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton Public defenders Howard University alumni Howard University School of Law alumni People from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American judges State's attorneys in Maryland Howard University School of Law faculty 21st-century American judges