Clyde Roger Vinson (born February 19, 1940) is a Senior

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 Northern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (in case citations, N.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

. Until May 3, 2013, he was also a member of the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants aga ...

Education and career

Born in Cadiz,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Vinson attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

and graduated in 1962 with 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 in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

. He served at

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

as a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

from 1962 to 1968, attaining the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. After his service, he attended

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

and received 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 ...

in 1971. Returning to

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

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 ...

, Vinson joined the law firm of Beggs & Lane, where he practiced general civil law from 1971 to 1983.

Federal judicial service

Vinson was nominated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

on September 9, 1983, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Lynn Carlton Higby Lynn Carlton Higby (August 6, 1938 – February 10, 1992) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Education and career Born in Orlando, Florida, Higby received a Bachelor of A ...

. 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 October 4, 1983, and received his commission on October 5, 1983. He served as Chief Judge from 1997 to 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 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 March 31, 2005. Vinson was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants ag ...

, effective May 4, 2006. As a member of the FISA court, Vinson issued a

top secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...

court order on April 25, 2013, requiring

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

's Business Network Services to provide

metadata Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...

on all calls in its system to the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

"on an ongoing daily basis".

Notable cases

*Four defendants of abortion clinic bombing, 1985Staff report (April 25, 1985)
2 of 4 Are Guilty of Clinic Bombing.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' *

Escambia County, Florida Escambia County is the westernmost and oldest county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is in the state's northwestern corner. At the 2020 census, the population was 321,905. Its county seat and largest city is Pensacola. Escambia County is incl ...

ordinance banning '' The Last Temptation of Christ'', 1988Associated Press (September 11, 1988)
Judge Overturns Ban on Film.
''The New York Times'' *

Shoney's Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates restaurants in 17 states, primarily in the South with additional locations in the Midwest and lower Mid-Atlantic states. Founder Alex Schoenbaum opene ...

$134 million

race discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain ...

settlement, 1993Staff report (January 28, 1993)
Shoney's Bias Suit Settled.
''The New York Times'' *

Paul Jennings Hill Paul Jennings Hill (February 6, 1954 – September 3, 2003) was an American minister and anti-abortion terrorist who murdered physician John Britton and Britton's bodyguard, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Barrett, in 1994. Hill was ...

(federal Clinic Access Law charges), 1994Smothers, Ronald (October 6, 1994)
Protester Is Guilty Under Clinic Access Law.
''The New York Times'' *Sentenced Financial Manager

Marcus Schrenker Marcus Schrenker (born November 27, 1970) is a former American financial advisor. In 2009, he attempted to fake his own death due to personal, financial, and legal troubles. As a result, he was the subject of a multi-state, three-day manhunt.Jay R ...

, who attempted to fake his own death by parachuting out of his plane after charges were brought against him for

securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in los ...

, to four years in federal prison in 2009.Martinez, Edecio (August 21, 2009)
Millionaire Who Faked Death Sobs in Court; Gets 4 Years.
''

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

'' In 2010, Vinson was assigned to hear a case, ''

Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services ''National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius'', 567 U.S. 519 (2012), was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in which the Court upheld Congress's power to enact most provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable C ...

'', brought by a group of 26 states that was filed with support by 22

attorneys general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and four governors challenging the constitutionality of the new

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

(PPACA), specifically its requirement that most individuals obtain medical insurance. The suit is the second of more than 15 lawsuits filed against the act that has advanced to this stage of litigation. On January 31, 2011, Vinson ruled that the individual mandate provision of the PPACA violated the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

by regulating economic inactivity, and as the mandate is not severable the entire statute was ruled unconstitutional. Vinson allowed the law to stand while it was being appealed by the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

. Vinson later issued a

stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

to his January ruling, allowing implementation to proceed while its constitutionality was weighed.Kendall, Brent (March 4, 2011)
Health Overhaul Is Given Reprieve.
''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

Sentencing philosophy

Vinson is noted for being a hardline judge who refuses to depart from maximum sentences in spite of their severity, even though he agrees his very own sentences are far too high. In his own words: "The punishment is supposed to fit the crime, but when a legislative body says this is going to be the sentence no matter what other factors there are, that's draconian in every sense of the word. Mandatory sentences breed injustice."

Personal life

In 2009, Vinson was installed as president of the American

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

Society.

References

External links

*
Profile on Sentencing Policy

Judge Vinson ruling declaring Obama healthcare unconstitutional

Judge Vinson's Order Staying Health Care Reform Unconstitutional Ruling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinson, Roger 1940 births Living people Vanderbilt University alumni People from Trigg County, Kentucky People from Pensacola, Florida Military personnel from Kentucky Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century American judges United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court 21st-century American judges