Wilkie Demeritte Ferguson Jr. (May 11, 1938 – June 9, 2003) was an American lawyer and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. He served as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in case citations, S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl.) is the federal United States district court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida. Appeals ...

, as well as serving on the

Florida Third District Court of Appeal The Florida Third District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its ten judges have jurisdiction over cases arising from Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade and Monroe County, Florida, Monroe Counties. History The Third District Court ...

and the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

Early life

Ferguson was born in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, to Bahamian immigrants. He grew up in the Liberty Square public housing project in Miami, attending segregated public schools. He was a member of the first graduating class of

Miami Northwestern High School Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public four-year high school located in Miami, Florida, United States. The school has struggled with test scores. It has had successful football and track programs and numerous alumni became professional ...

in 1956.

Education and career

Ferguson graduated from the

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

in 1960. At FAMU he met his wife, Betty, who later became a member of the Miami-Dade County Commission. After graduation, Ferguson enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served from 1960 to 1964. He attained the

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

of second lieutenant, serving as a

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

and

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

units at

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

in 1961. Ferguson was

discharged Discharge may refer to: * The act of firing a gun * Termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from service Flow * Discharge (hydrology), the a ...

from

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. Indian The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one of the largest active service forces in the world, with almost 1.42 million Active Standin ...

in 1964 but remained in the

Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

from 1964 to 1968. Ferguson worked as an accountant in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and took graduate courses at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

before entering

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 old ...

. Ferguson served as associate editor of ''The Barrister'', the Howard University School of Law newspaper. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1968. Ferguson served as a staff attorney of Legal Services of Greater Miami from 1968 to 1970, and from the Liberty City-Brownsville Legal Services office from 1969 to 1971. Ferguson was a member of the panel that investigated the 1968 Liberty City riots. He was in private practice in Miami from 1970 to 1973, and co-founded the

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of McCrary, Ferguson and Lee in 1971. Ferguson was a staff attorney of the Dade County School Board from 1972 to 1973.

State judicial service

Between 1973 and 1977, Ferguson served on the Industrial Claims Court. In 1976,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Rubin Askew appointed Ferguson to the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (Dade County Circuit Court) from 1977 to 1981; he was the first

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

judge appointed to that court. Ferguson was appointed the

in December 1980 and served on that court from 1981 to 1993; he was the first black judge on that court.

Federal judicial service

Ferguson 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on October 25, 1993, to the seat vacated by William Hoeveler.

Confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands. Catholicis ...

by 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 ...

on November 20, 1993, he received

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

on November 22, 1993. Ferguson served on the court until he died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in Miami in 2003. He was succeeded by Judge Marcia G. Cooke.

Honors

Just ten days after his death the Florida Black Lawyers Association voted unanimously to rename itself the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association in his honor. The Wilkie D. Ferguson Courthouse in

downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida, United States. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and ...

, designed by

Arquitectonica Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and urban planning design firm headquartered in Miami, Miami, Florida’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. The firm also has offices in ten other cities thr ...

, as well as the nearby

Metromover Metromover is a fare-free automated people mover system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves the Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods. Metromover con ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

(formerly the Arena/State Plaza station as of February 2012), are also named for Ferguson.

References

External links

*
Profile
from the

Article
on the new Wilkie D. Ferguson Courthouse
Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Wilkie D., Jr. 1938 births 2003 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton Judges of the Florida District Courts of Appeal African-American judges American people of Bahamian descent Florida A&M University alumni Howard University School of Law alumni United States Army officers Deaths from leukemia in Florida Lawyers from Miami 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges