James Larry Edmondson (born July 14, 1947) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

Education and early career

Born in

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Edmondson 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 year ...

degree from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 1968, a Juris Doctor from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law schools in continuous ...

in 1971, and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1990. Edmondson clerked for Judge Sidney Oslin Smith Jr. of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions. Appeals from cases ...

from 1971 to 1973. He was an attorney in private practice in Jasper during 1973, and in Lawrenceville, Georgia from 1973 to 1986. Edmondson also taught as a law professor at the University of Georgia from 1975 to 1984.

Federal judicial service

On March 26, 1986, Edmondson was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the

. vacated by Judge

Albert John Henderson Albert John Henderson (December 12, 1920 – May 11, 1999) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and earlier was a United State ...

. Edmondson was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on April 29, 1986, and received his commission on May 7, 1986. He served as Chief Judge from 2002 to 2009. Edmondson assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on July 15, 2012.

Notable case

In 2000, Edmondson, as part of a 3-judge panel with Judges Joel Fredrick Dubina and Charles R. Wilson, issued the opinion that ultimately led to

Elian Gonzalez Elian or Elián (Spanish) or Élian (French) can refer to: People *Saint Elian (Syria) (died 284) **Church of Saint Elian (Arabic: كنيسة مار اليان, Kaneesat Mar Elian) is a church in Homs, Syria ** Monastery of St. Elian a Syriac Catho ...

being sent back to Cuba to be reunited with his father.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmondson, James Larry 1947 births 20th-century American judges Emory University alumni Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Living people People from Jasper, Georgia United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan University of Georgia alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni