Alexander Williams Jr. (born May 8, 1948) is a former

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 District of Maryland The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken ...

Education and career

Born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Williams received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in 1970 and a

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 ...

from

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 ...

in 1973. He was a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Judge James H. Taylor, Seventh Judicial Circuit of Maryland from 1973 to 1974. He was in private practice in Hyattsville,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and Beltsville, Maryland from 1974 to 1986, serving as a municipal attorney for Fairmount Heights from 1975 to 1987, and as a substitute juvenile master, Prince George's County Circuit Court (part-time) from 1976 to 1977. He was an Assistant public defender, Prince George's County Public Defender's Office from 1977 to 1978. He was a Special counsel and hearing examiner, Prince George's County Board of Education (part-time) from 1978 to 1987. He became a professor of law at Howard University from 1978 to 1989, continuing as an adjunct professor thereafter. He was a Municipal attorney of Glenarden from 1980 to 1987, and was then a State's attorney of Prince George's County from 1987 to 1994. Alexander Williams Jr. was the first African American elected to the office of State's Attorney in

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

, Maryland.

Federal judicial service

On August 6, 1993, President

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, ...

nominated Williams to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Norman P. Ramsey. Williams was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on August 17, 1994, and received his commission on August 18, 1994. He took senior status on May 8, 2013. He retired from active service on January 3, 2014.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Alexander Jr. 1948 births Living people African-American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton Public defenders Howard University alumni Howard University School of Law alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American judges State's attorneys in Maryland Howard University School of Law faculty 21st-century American judges 20th-century Maryland politicians

Education and career

Federal judicial service

See also

References

Sources