Spottswood William Robinson III (July 26, 1916 – October 11, 1998) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

attorney, and a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

after previously serving as a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...

Education and career

Born in

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 ...

, the son of Spottswood William Robinson II 893-1954 a lawyer, and Inez Irene Clements 893-1994 a homemaker, Robinson an undergraduate degree from

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

and 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 ...

from

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

in 1939, graduating first in his class and achieving the highest scholastic average in the history of the law school. He was a member of the faculty of Howard University School of Law from 1939 to 1948. He was in private practice of law in Richmond from 1943 to 1960. He was counsel and representative for the Virginia

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Altho ...

from 1948 to 1950. He was southeast regional counsel for the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

from 1951 to 1960. He was Professor and Dean of Howard University School of Law from 1960 to 1963. He was a member of the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility for ...

from 1961 to 1963.

NAACP LDF cases

George Edward Chalmer Hayes, Thurgood Marshall, and James Nabrit in 1953 confering during Brown case

In the early 1950s, Robinson and his law-partner Oliver Hill, working through the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, litigated several civil rights lawsuits in

. In 1951, Robinson and Hill took up the cause of the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

students at the segregated R.R. Moton High School in

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to ''Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowing l ...

, Virginia who had walked out of their dilapidated school. The subsequent lawsuit, ''

Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County ''Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County'' (Docket number: Civ. A. No. 1333; Case citation: 103 F. Supp. 337 (1952)) was one of the five cases combined into '' Brown v. Board of Education'', the famous case in which the U.S. Supreme ...

'', was consolidated with four other cases decided under ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'' 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 1954. In his arguments before the Court, Robinson made the first argument on behalf of the plaintiffs. Robinson also participated in ''Chance v. Lambeth'', which invalidated carrier-enforced racial segregation in interstate transportation.

Federal judicial service

Robinson received 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 ...

from President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

on January 6, 1964, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge James Ward Morris. He was nominated to the same seat by President Johnson on February 3, 1964. 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 July 1, 1964, and received his commission on July 2, 1964, becoming the first African-American to serve on this court. His service was terminated on November 8, 1966, due to elevation to the D.C. Circuit. Robinson was nominated by President Johnson on October 6, 1966, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

George Thomas Washington George Thomas Washington (June 24, 1908 – August 21, 1971) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Education and career Washington was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the son ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 20, 1966, and received his commission on November 3, 1966. He served as Chief Judge from 1981 to 1986, becoming the first African-American to both serve on this court and serve as Chief Judge of the court. 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 September 1, 1989. His service was terminated on October 11, 1998, due to his death in Richmond.

Notable case

Robinson's opinion in '' Canterbury v. Spence'' is credited with requiring medical doctors to secure

informed consent Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...

and as the beginning of a more litigious medical culture.

References

External links

FJC Bio
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Spottswood William, III 1916 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American judges African-American history of Virginia African-American judges Activists for African-American civil rights American civil rights lawyers American legal scholars Howard University School of Law alumni Howard University School of Law faculty Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Deans of law schools in the United States Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia United States court of appeals judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson Virginia lawyers Virginia Union University alumni