Terrence George Berg (born August 1959) is a
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
.
Biography
Berg was born in Detroit, and raised in
Madison Heights, Michigan
Madison Heights is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, its population was 29,694. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit, about north of the Detroit city limits.
History
Originally part of Royal Oa ...
until he was 8 years old. His family moved to
Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan
Grosse Pointe Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,555 at the 2010 census.
Bordering on Detroit with frontage on southern Lake St. Clair, it is the southernmost of the Grosse Pointe suburbs. Gros ...
where he graduated from
Grosse Pointe South High School
Grosse Pointe South High School is a public high school of state and national historical significance serving the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe. Originally known as Grosse Pointe High School when it opened in 1928, the school adopted its curr ...
in 1977.
Berg received his
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, ''
magna 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 So ...
'', from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in 1981. He 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 ...
, ''
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
Georgetown University Law Center
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...
in 1986. He served with distinction as the Editor-in-Chief of the
Georgetown Journal of International Law
The ''Georgetown Journal of International Law'' is a law review published by Georgetown University Law Center
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in W ...
(formerly known as Law and Policy in International Business). He served as a law clerk to Judge
Anthony Alaimo
Anthony Alfred Alaimo (March 29, 1920 – December 30, 2009) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.
Education and career
Born in Termini Imerese i ...
of the
from 1986 to 1987.
He was an associate at the law firm of
Debevoise & Plimpton
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (often shortened to Debevoise) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Harvard Law School alumnus Eli Whitney Debevoise and Oxford-trained William Stevenson, the firm was original ...
from 1987 to 1989. He served as an
Assistant United States Attorney
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
from 1989 to 2012, except for a period from 1999 to 2003 when he served as Chief of the High Tech Crime Unit at the Michigan Department of the Attorney General. From 2008 to 2010, he served as interim United States Attorney. In 2010, he was detailed to be Acting First Assistant United States Attorney in the Middle District of Georgia. Beginning in 2011, until the time of his nomination to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, he was detailed to be the Professional Misconduct Review Unit at the
Office of the Deputy Attorney General, United States Department of Justice.
Berg taught courses at the
U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
's National Advocacy Center, in Columbia, South Carolina and the
FBI Academy
The FBI Academy is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's law enforcement training and research center near the town of Quantico in Stafford County, Virginia. Operated by the bureau's Training Division, it was first opened for use on May 7, 197 ...
in
Quantico, Virginia
Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east a ...
. He has been a trainer for various prosecuting attorney’s associations. He taught a Computer Crime Seminar and also Trial Practice from 1994-2012 as an
adjunct professor
An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and
the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
for the
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is the law school of the University of Detroit Mercy and is located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan across from the Renaissance Center. Founded in 1912, Detroit Mercy Law is a private Roman Catholic law ...
.
He worked in the
Michigan Attorney General
The Attorney General of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, me ...
office under
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...
. His special interest there was “a unit dedicated to fighting Internet crime in Michigan.” Berg offered that, “When I was a prosecutor, I always enjoyed the fraud cases, because it was a more complicated investigation and you had to prove the person had the intent to commit a crime.” He thereafter returned to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
During his confirmation, he was candid about his views on the judicial role.
Federal judicial service
On April 25, 2012, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
nominated Berg to be a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, to the seat vacated by Judge
Arthur J. Tarnow. His nomination was forwarded by the
Senate Judiciary Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
to the full United States Senate on July 12, 2012. The United States Senate voted to confirm Berg in a voice vote on December 6, 2012. He received his commission on December 7, 2012.
Assault
On March 5, 2015 Judge Berg was shot in the leg during an attempted home robbery. The
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
offered a $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the shooting.
Berg's family immediately asked for calm due to the situation.
Berg underwent surgery to repair the damage to his leg.
After a period of intense rehabilitation for his knee, Judge Berg returned to service. He has since been involved in charitable events.
References
Notes
Citations
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Terrence
1959 births
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Living people
United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama
21st-century American judges
Assistant United States Attorneys
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Georgetown University alumni
People associated with Debevoise & Plimpton