Roger L. Gregory (born July 17, 1953) is an American lawyer who serves as the
Chief United States circuit judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maryla ...
.
Background
Gregory was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
but grew up in
Petersburg,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
He earned 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 ''
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' from
Virginia State University
Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...
in 1975 and his
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 the
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...
in 1978. He worked as an associate for
Butzel Long
Founded in 1854, Butzel Long is one of the oldest law firms in Michigan. Based in Detroit, Michigan, the firm has 155 attorneys throughout the state, in New York City, and in Washington, D.C. It has alliance offices in Mexico and China. Butzel Lon ...
and
Hunton & Williams
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is an American law firm created by the merger of Hunton & Williams LLP and Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP on April 2, 2018. The firm has offices in 20 cities, primarily in the United States.
History
Hunton & Williams (formerl ...
from 1978 until 1982. He co-founded the
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
law firm of Wilder & Gregory in 1982 with
L. Douglas Wilder (the first African-American to be elected governor in the United States), and became the chair of its litigation section in 1985.
Gregory is also a member of several fraternal organizations, including
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...
fraternity, and
Sigma Pi Phi
Sigma Pi Phi (), also known as The Boulé, founded in 1904, is the oldest fraternity for African Americans among those named with Greek letters. The fraternity does not have collegiate chapters and is designed for professionals at mid-career or o ...
fraternity.
Federal judicial service
On June 30, 2000, President
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 ...
nominated Gregory to a seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maryla ...
that had been vacant for close to a decade since it had been created (the Senate had never acted on Clinton's previous nominee to that seat,
J. Rich Leonard
J. Rich Leonard (born 1949) is the dean of the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law since July 2013. He previously served as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina and was chief judge from 1998 until 2005. Leonard was a ...
). After the Senate declined to take up Gregory's nomination, and the 2000 presidential election was already over, Clinton installed Gregory on the Fourth Circuit on December 27, 2000, via a
recess appointment
In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...
, which would have lasted only until the end of the 2001 Congressional session. However, he was renominated by newly elected President
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 May 9, 2001.
The Senate confirmed Gregory on July 20, 2001, by a 93–1 vote, with
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. A former United States Senator from Mississippi, Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both the United States House of Representatives and the ...
of
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
casting the lone dissenting vote because he objected to Clinton's use of his recess appointment power. Gregory was the first judge nominated to the Fourth Circuit by Bush and 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 ...
and is the first black judge to serve on the Fourth Circuit. He received his commission on July 25, 2001. Gregory became chief judge on July 8, 2016.
Notable opinions
On July 28, 2014, Judge Gregory joined the majority opinion with
Henry Franklin Floyd in ''
Bostic v. Schaefer
''Bostic v. Schaefer'' (formerly ''Bostic v. McDonnell'' and ''Bostic v. Rainey'') is a lawsuit filed in federal court in July 2013 that challenged Virginia's refusal to sanction same-sex marriages. The plaintiffs won in U.S. district court in Fe ...
'' that declared Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. This decision led to the legalization of
same-sex marriage in Virginia
Same-sex marriage in Virginia has been legal since October 6, 2014, following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in ''Bostic v. Schaefer''. Same-sex marriages subsequently be ...
as well as all other states throughout the
Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maryland
...
.
On May 25, 2017, Judge Gregory wrote for the majority when the ''
en banc
In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
'' circuit upheld a lower court's injunction blocking the President's
travel ban by a 10-3 vote in ''
International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump
''International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump'', 857 F. 3d 554 ( 4th Cir. 2017), was a 2017 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting ''en banc'', upholding an injunction against enforcement of Executi ...
''.
In October 2017, Gregory dissented when the panel majority found that the Bladensburg
Peace Cross
The Peace Cross is a World War I memorial located in Bladensburg, Maryland. Standing in height, the large cross, is made of tan concrete with exposed pink granite aggregate; the arms of the cross are supported by unadorned concrete arches. Erec ...
memorial from World War I now violated the Constitution's
Establishment Clause
In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text ...
, and he wrote another dissent when the circuit denied rehearing ''
en banc
In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
''. The circuit's judgement was then reversed by the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in ''
American Legion v. American Humanist Association'' (2019).
See also
*
Bill Clinton judicial appointment controversies
*
George W. Bush judicial appointment controversies
During President George W. Bush's two term tenure in office, a few of his nominations for federal judgeships were blocked by the Senate Democrats either directly in the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the full Senate floor in various procedura ...
*
List of African-American jurists
This list includes individuals self-identified as African Americans who have made prominent contributions to the field of law in the United States, especially as eminent judges or legal scholars. Individuals who may have obtained law degrees or ...
*
*
List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Virginia
This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Virginia. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in the ...
References
External links
*
*
''New York Times'' article discussing Clinton's recess appointment.''National Review'' article discussing Bush re-nomination of Gregory.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Roger
1953 births
21st-century American judges
African-American lawyers
African-American judges
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Living people
People from Petersburg, Virginia
Lawyers from Philadelphia
Recess appointments
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton
United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush
University of Michigan Law School alumni
Virginia lawyers
Virginia State University alumni