Raymond Lawrence Finch (born October 4, 1940) is an American judge. He served as a judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands from 1994 to 2008.

Early life

Finch was born on

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

, in Christiansted, the son of Wilfred C. and Beryl Finch. He graduated from Christiansted High School in 1958,

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

with a

B.A. 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 yea ...

in Political Science in 1962, and Howard University School of Law with an

LL.B. 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 1965. He served as law clerk to Alexander Farrelly and Antonio L. Joseph of the Municipal Court of the Virgin Islands. He served as a

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in Vietnam from 1966 to 1969, first as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

, then as a captain, earning a Bronze Star Medal. He then joined the law firm of Hodge & Sheen, and was admitted to the Virgin Islands Bar in 1970. He became a partner in the firm of Hodge, Sheen, Finch & Ross the following year. He was appointed by Governor Cyril King as a judge of the

Municipal Court City court or municipal court is a court of law with jurisdiction limited to a city or other municipality. It typically addresses "violations of city ordinances and may also have jurisdiction over minor criminal cases...and over certain civil cases ...

in 1976. He served on the court, which was renamed the Territorial Court the following year, until 1994.

District Court of the Virgin Islands

Finch was nominated to the District Court of the Virgin Islands by George H. W. Bush on June 19, 1992. His nomination expired later that year. On March 22, 1994, he was nominated to the same court by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, and 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 May 6, 1994. He was sworn in on September 1, 1994, and served as the Chief Judge of the District Court from 1999 to 2005. As his 10-year term was expiring, Finch was renominated to the same court by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on February 2, 2004, and was confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2004. He assumed

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

on August 15, 2008.

References

, - 1940 births Living people 21st-century American judges African-American judges African-American lawyers Howard University alumni Howard University School of Law alumni Judges of the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush United States Virgin Islands lawyers People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands {{US-state-judge-stub