William Marsh Acker Jr. (October 25, 1927 – June 21, 2018) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
William Acker | |
|---|---|
 Acker in 1990 | |
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama | |
| In office May 31, 1996 – June 21, 2018 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama | |
| In office August 18, 1982 – May 31, 1996 | |
| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Frank Hampton McFadden |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Marsh Acker Jr. October 25, 1927 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | June 21, 2018 (aged 90) |
| Education | Birmingham–Southern College (BA) Yale University (LLB) |
Education and career
editAcker was born in Birmingham, Alabama and served in the United States Army as a private first class from 1946 to 1947. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Birmingham–Southern College in 1949 and a Bachelor of Laws from Yale Law School in 1952. He was an attorney in private practice in Birmingham for thirty years, from 1952 to 1982.[1]
Federal judicial service
editAcker was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 22, 1982, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Frank Hampton McFadden. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 18, 1982, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1996. He took inactive senior status on September 30, 2016, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he did not hear cases or participate in the business of the court. He remained in that status until his death on June 21, 2018.[1][2]
Notable cases
editIn 2007, Acker recommended that the United States Attorney charge Richard Scruggs and the Scruggs Law Firm with criminal contempt for leaking documents in violation of a court order; in 2008, he accused Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood of conspiring with Scruggs to skirt the court order.[3] In 2008, Acker held the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act unconstitutional in order to impose disproportionate punitive damages ($65,000) on two women defendants who caused no harm (were whistle-blowers exposing insurance fraud), yet Acker did not fine the men found guilty of the insurance fraud.[4] Acker's decision was overturned in 2009.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Acker, William Marsh, Jr. - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
- ^ "Federal Judge William Acker Jr. remembered as 'one of a kind'". 24 June 2018.
- ^ Associated Press (June 6, 2008). "Judge: Miss. attorney general conspired with Scruggs". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
- ^ Walton, Val (May 31, 2008). "Federal judge tosses out federal credit card law". Birmingham News.
- ^ Franke, Ted (April 13, 2009). "Grimes v. Raves Motion Pictures FACTA decision reversed" Overlawyered
Sources
edit- William Marsh Acker Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.