Raymond Alvin Jackson facts for kids

Raymond Alvin Jackson (born 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Education and career

Born in Sussex, Virginia, Jackson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Norfolk State University in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1973. He was in the United States Army, JAG Corps, from 1973 to 1977, attaining the rank of captain. He thereafter remained in the United States Army Reserve, achieving the rank of colonel. He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia from 1977 to 1993, and was an adjunct lecturer at the College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, from 1981 to 1991 and in 1993.

Federal judicial service

On September 24, 1993, Jackson was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Richard Leroy Williams. Jackson was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 1993, and received his commission on November 22, 1993. He assumed senior status on November 23, 2021.

Notable cases

Jackson was the district court judge in the critical Supreme Court decision in Kimbrough v. United States (2007). ..... Kimbrough pleaded guilty to all four counts. Under the statutes that define these respective crimes, Kimbrough faced a sentence of between 15 years and life in prison. Based on the facts, Kimbrough admitted at his change-of-plea hearing, as well as the fact that Kimbrough had testified falsely at a codefendant's trial, Jackson computed the applicable range under the federal sentencing guidelines at 228 to 270 months in prison.

..... The mandatory minimum sentence, in turn, was 180 months in prison, and Jackson imposed that sentence.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the sentence and remanded for further proceedings. .....

Personal life

Jackson is married to retired judge Gwendolyn Jackson from the 4th Judicial District of Virginia. Their daughter Candace Jackson-Akiwumi is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

See also

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