Roger Vinson
| Roger Vinson | |
|---|---|
| Senior District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | |
|
Assumed office March 31, 2005 |
|
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | |
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In office 1997–2004 |
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| Preceded by | Maurice M. Paul |
| Succeeded by | Robert Lewis Hinkle |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | |
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In office October 5, 1983 – March 31, 2005 |
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| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Lynn Carlton Higby |
| Succeeded by | John Richard Smoak, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Clyde Roger Vinson February 19, 1940 Cadiz, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
United States Naval Academy Vanderbilt University |
Clyde Roger Vinson (born February 19, 1940) is a senior federal judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Until May 3, 2013 he was also a member of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Born in Cadiz, Kentucky, Vinson attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated in 1962 with a bachelor's degree in engineering. He served at Naval Air Station Pensacola as a naval aviator from 1962 to 1968, attaining the rank of lieutenant. After his service, he attended Vanderbilt University and received his J.D. in 1971.
Returning to Pensacola, Florida, Vinson joined the law firm of Beggs & Lane, where he practiced general civil law from 1971 to 1983. He was nominated to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan on September 9, 1983 to a seat vacated by Lynn C. Higby, was confirmed by the Senate on October 4, and received his commission a day later. Among the notable cases he has presided over:
Vinson was chief judge from 1997 to 2004. He assumed senior status on March 31, 2005. He is noted for being a hardline judge who refuses to depart from maximum sentences in spite of their severity, even though he agrees his very own sentences are far too high. In his own words: "The punishment is supposed to fit the crime, but when a legislative body says this is going to be the sentence no matter what other factors there are, that's draconian in every sense of the word. Mandatory sentences breed injustice."
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