James Waldo Ackerman (January 1, 1926 – November 23, 1984) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

Education and career

Born in Jacksonville,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Ackerman received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

in 1947 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 Marquette University Law School in 1949. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, from 1944 to 1946 and again from 1952 to 1954. In the interim, he was in private practice of law in Sangamon County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He was an assistant state's attorney for Sangamon County from 1954 to 1956, and then state's attorney in that county until 1960, when he returned to private practice. While in private practice, he was counsel to the

municipal corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, Illinois from 1961 to 1962, assistant state treasurer for Illinois from 1963 to 1964, and deputy state attorney general from 1968 to 1971. He was a judge of the

Illinois Circuit Court The Illinois circuit courts are state courts of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 24 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. The jurisdiction of s ...

from 1971 to 1976.

Federal judicial service

Ackerman was nominated by President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

on June 18, 1976, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois vacated by Judge

Harlington Wood Jr. Harlington Wood Jr. (April 17, 1920 – December 29, 2008) was an American lawyer, jurist, political figure and an amateur actor. He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 197 ...

He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on July 2, 1976, and received his commission on July 2, 1976. His service terminated on March 31, 1979, due to reassignment by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois created by 93 Stat. 6. He served as Chief Judge of the Central District from 1982 to 1984. His service terminated on November 23, 1984, due to his death in Springfield.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerman, J. Waldo 1926 births 1984 deaths Illinois state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois Marquette University alumni Marquette University Law School alumni Lawyers from Jacksonville, Florida People from Sangamon County, Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers United States Navy personnel of World War II