Roby Calvin Thompson (March 30, 1898 – July 29, 1960) was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...

Early life and education

Thompson was born at Allison Gap near

Saltville Saltville is a town in Smyth and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 2,077 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a compon ...

, in

Washington County, Virginia Washington County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,935. Its county seat is Abingdon. Washington County is part of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statis ...

, the eldest son of the former Minnie Moore (1878-1966) and her saltmaking laborer husband John Harvey Thompson (1875-1954) Probably a distant relative, John H. Thompson had represented Smyth County in the Virginia House of Delegates for one term during the final years of the Civil War (1863–5), and represented both Smyth and adjoining Washington County in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868. However, this boy's still-living grandfather at the time was North Carolina born Calvin Thompson (1846-1926; hence this man's middle name). After a primary education locally, Thompson traveled to Charlottesville for further studies and received a Bachelor of Laws from

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1922.

Career

Upon admission to the Virginia bar, Thompson practiced law in Abingdon and adjoining counties from 1922 to 1957. He served as a deputy clerk of the United States District Court in Abingdon from 1928 to 1938. Washington County voters elected him commonwealth attorney (prosecutor) at the end of the Great Depression, and he served from 1939 to 1947. Thompson served as Abingdon's city attorney from 1940 to 1957.

Federal judicial service

President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Thompson on August 16, 1957, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Alfred D. Barksdale Alfred Dickinson Barksdale (July 17, 1892 – August 16, 1972), frequently known as A. D. Barksdale, was an American soldier, Virginia lawyer, state senator, state court judge, and a United States district judge of the United States District Cour ...

, who was deeply disturbed by

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 28, 1957, and received his commission on August 30, 1957. He served as Chief Judge from 1958 to 1960. His service was terminated on July 29, 1960, due to his death in Abingdon.

Notable cases

Along with his colleague

Theodore Roosevelt Dalton Theodore Roosevelt Dalton (July 3, 1901 – October 30, 1989) was a Virginia attorney and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He was known as Virginia's "Mr. Republican." Ed ...

and Senior Judge John Paul Jr., Thompson presided over school integration cases in Western Virginia, implementing the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Thompson ordered the integration of the public schools in Floyd County, Virginia and

Galax ''Galax'', the wandplant, wandflower, or beetleweed, is a genus in the flowering plant family Diapensiaceae, containing a single species, ''Galax urceolata'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''G. rotundifolia'', ''G. aphylla''). It is native to the sou ...

, Virginia in 1959 and Pulaski County, Virginia in 1960, noting that more than five years had passed since the Brown decision.

Personal life

He married Mary Davis Geurrant (1906-2000) of Florida, who bore two sons and two daughters and outlived him by decades.1950 U.S. Federal Census for Abingdon Virginia District 96-1 p. 14 of 33

Death and legacy

Thompson died in Charlottesville,

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Char ...

, survived by his mother as well as his wife and sons. He is buried at Knollkreg memorial park in Abingdon.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Roby Calvin 1898 births 1960 deaths Virginia lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 20th-century American judges University of Virginia School of Law alumni People from Abingdon, Virginia County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia