John R. Hargrove Sr. (October 25, 1923 – April 1, 1997) was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to be appointed Assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the District of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and was later appointed by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

to be 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 District of Maryland.

Education and career

Hargrove was born in

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, the first son of Georgine and Raymond Hargrove. When he was six months old, the family moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He attended Saint Catherine's Academy (now Saint Pius School), and graduated from Douglass High School in 1941. After high school, he entered Morgan State College in Baltimore. His studies were interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when he joined the military service. He served in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

from 1943 to 1946 where he attained the rank of sergeant. After the war he graduated from Howard University where he received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1947. Hargrove graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1950 and was admitted to the bar the same year. In 1957 he became the first African-American to be appointed

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the District of Maryland, serving in that capacity for five years. In 1967, Hargrove was elected as a delegate to the Maryland Constitutional Convention in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

State judicial service

In 1962, he was appointed Judge of the old People's Court, where he served for a brief time before losing an election for the position. The next year he and

Joseph C. Howard Sr. Joseph Clemens Howard Sr. (December 9, 1922 – September 16, 2000) was the first African American to win an election as judge for the Baltimore City Supreme Bench and was later appointed by President Jimmy Carter to be a United States district ...

formed the law firm of Howard and Hargrove, where he practiced law until 1968. In 1968 he was appointed Judge of the old Municipal Court of Baltimore City. The old Municipal Court became the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City in 1971, at which time he was named the first Administrative Judge for the newly formed District Court. In 1974, he was appointed Associate Judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City (now the Circuit Court for Baltimore City), where he served until 1984.

Federal judicial service

Hargrove was nominated by President

on January 30, 1984, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland vacated by Judge

Shirley Brannock Jones Shirley Brannock Jones (June 29, 1925 – May 23, 2019) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Education and career Born in Cambridge, Maryland, Jones received an Associate of Arts d ...

. He was confirmed by the

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on February 9, 1984, and received commission on February 10, 1984. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on February 21, 1994. His service terminated on April 1, 1997, due to death.

Legacy

The newest of the

Baltimore City District Courthouses The Baltimore City District Courthouses of the District Court of Maryland are located at North Avenue, Wabash Avenue, Patapsco Avenue and E. Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland, and serve as the courts of first impression for the majority of ...

is the John R. Hargrove Sr. Building, located at 700 E. Patapsco Avenue in southern Baltimore City. Ground for this new courthouse was broken in 2001, and it is named in honor of the late Judge John R. Hargrove Sr., who died April 1, 1997. His son John Raymond Hargrove Jr. was appointed to the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City by Governor

Parris Glendening Parris Nelson Glendening (born June 11, 1942) is an American politician and academic who served as the 59th Governor of Maryland from January 18, 1995, to January 15, 2003. Previously, he was the County Executive of Prince George's County, Mary ...

in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hargrove, John R. Sr. 1923 births 1997 deaths African-American judges African Americans in World War II Howard University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland Maryland state court judges Morgan State University alumni Politicians from Atlantic City, New Jersey Lawyers from Baltimore United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century American judges University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers Assistant United States Attorneys African-American United States Army personnel United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century African-American lawyers

Education and career

State judicial service

Federal judicial service

Legacy

See also

References