Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr.
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Waverly David Crenshaw Jr. (born December 17, 1956) is a
United States federal 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. Cou ...
of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.


Biography

Crenshaw was born on December 17, 1956, in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. Crenshaw received a
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 in 1978 from
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
. He received a
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 1981 from
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 ...
. From 1981 to 1982, he served as a
law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
to the Judges of the Chancery and Probate Court of
Davidson County, Tennessee Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the heart of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, making it the second most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville ...
. From 1982 to 1984, he served as a law clerk to Judge
John Trice Nixon John Trice Nixon (January 9, 1933 – December 19, 2019) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Early life, education and military service John Trice Nixon was born on Janua ...
of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. He served as assistant attorney general of the State of Tennessee from 1984 to 1987. From 1987 to 1990, he was an associate at the law firm of Passino, Delaney & Hildebrand. He joined the law firm of
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP (often simply Waller) is a large U.S. law firm in Nashville, Tennessee with other offices in the Southern United States. History As the oldest law firm in Nashville, Waller traces its roots back to the Nashville ...
in 1990 as an associate, becoming partner in 1994; becoming the first
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 ...
attorney and partner at the firm. He specializes in labor and employment law.


Federal judicial service

On February 4, 2015, 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 Crenshaw to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, to the seat vacated by Judge William Joseph Haynes Jr., who 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 December 1, 2014. He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 10, 2015. On July 9, 2015, his nomination was reported out of committee by a
voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
. On April 11, 2016, the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
confirmed his nomination by a 92–0 vote. He received his commission on April 12, 2016. At the time of his confirmation, Crenshaw was only the second African-American federal judge on active status in
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. He became chief judge on April 15, 2017, after
Kevin H. Sharp Kevin Hunter Sharp (born January 22, 1963) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Early life and education Sharp was born on January 22, 1963, in Memphis, Tennessee. He ...
resigned., completing a seven-year-term on April 15, 2024.


Personal life

Crenshaw was the first African American to become a member of the Belle Meade Country Club, a private golf club in Belle Meade, Tennessee, in 2012.


See also

* List of African-American federal judges * List of African-American jurists


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crenshaw, Waverly David Jr. 1956 births Living people 20th-century African-American lawyers 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American judges African-American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Lawyers from Nashville, Tennessee United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama Vanderbilt University Law School alumni