C. Roger Vinson
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Clyde Roger Vinson (February 19, 1940 – April 1, 2023) was a
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 Northern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (in case citations, N.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...
. Until May 3, 2013, he was also a member of the
United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a United States federal courts, U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests ...
.


Education and career

Born in
Cadiz, Kentucky Cadiz ( ) is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Trigg County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,540 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Clarksville metropolitan area. Cadiz is a historic town located close to Lake Ba ...
, Vinson attended the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
and graduated in 1962 with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
in
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
. He served at
Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...
as a
naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...
from 1962 to 1968, attaining the rank of
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
. After his service, he attended
Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as VLS) is the law school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each ...
and received his
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 ...
in 1971. Returning to
Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, Vinson joined the law firm of Beggs & Lane, where he practiced general civil law from 1971 to 1983.


Federal judicial service

Vinson was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
on September 9, 1983, to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (in case citations, N.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...
vacated by Judge Lynn Carlton Higby. He 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 October 4, 1983, and received his commission on October 5, 1983. He served as chief judge from 1997 to 2004. He assumed senior status on March 31, 2005. Vinson was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the
United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a United States federal courts, U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests ...
, effective May 4, 2006. As a member of the FISA court, Vinson issued a
top secret Classified information is confidential material that a government deems to be sensitive information which must be protected from unauthorized disclosure that requires special handling and dissemination controls. Access is restricted by law or ...
court order on April 25, 2013, requiring
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's Business Network Services to provide
metadata Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive ...
on all calls in its system to the
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
"on an ongoing daily basis".


Notable cases

*Four defendants of abortion clinic bombing, 1985Staff report (April 25, 1985)
2 of 4 Are Guilty of Clinic Bombing.
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
*
Escambia County, Florida Escambia County is the westernmost and oldest County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 321,905. The county seat and largest city is Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...
ordinance banning '' The Last Temptation of Christ'', 1988Associated Press (September 11, 1988)
Judge Overturns Ban on Film.
''The New York Times''
*
Shoney's Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. As of April 2024, the company operates 58 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South ...
$134 million race discrimination settlement, 1993Staff report (January 28, 1993)
Shoney's Bias Suit Settled.
''The New York Times''
*
Paul Jennings Hill Paul Jennings Hill (February 6, 1954 – September 3, 2003) was an American minister, religious extremist, and anti-abortion terrorist who murdered physician John Britton and Britton's bodyguard, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Barr ...
(federal Clinic Access Law charges), 1994Smothers, Ronald (October 6, 1994)
Protester Is Guilty Under Clinic Access Law.
''The New York Times''
*Sentenced Financial Manager Marcus Schrenker, who attempted to fake his own death by parachuting out of his plane after charges were brought against him for
securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information.Martinez, Edecio (August 21, 2009)
Millionaire Who Faked Death Sobs in Court; Gets 4 Years.
''
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''
In 2010, Vinson was assigned to hear a case, '' Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services'', brought by a group of 26 states that was filed with support by 22
attorneys general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
and four governors challenging the constitutionality of the new
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...
(PPACA), specifically its requirement that most individuals obtain medical insurance. The suit is the second of more than 15 lawsuits filed against the act that has advanced to this stage of litigation. On January 31, 2011, Vinson ruled that the individual mandate provision of the PPACA violated the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
by regulating economic inactivity, and as the mandate is not
severable In law, severability (sometimes known as salvatorius, from Latin) refers to a provision in a contract or piece of legislation which states that if some of the terms are held to be illegal or otherwise unenforceable, the remainder should still apply ...
the entire statute was ruled unconstitutional. Vinson allowed the law to stand while it was being appealed by the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
. Vinson later issued a
stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...
to his January ruling, allowing implementation to proceed while its constitutionality was weighed.Kendall, Brent (March 4, 2011)
Health Overhaul Is Given Reprieve.
''
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''


Sentencing philosophy

Vinson is noted for being a hardline judge who refused to depart from maximum sentences in spite of their severity, even though he agreed his very own sentences were 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."


Personal life and death

In 2009, Vinson was installed as president of the American
Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...
Society. Vinson died from prostate cancer on April 1, 2023, aged 83.


References


External links

*
Profile on Sentencing Policy

Judge Vinson ruling declaring Obama healthcare unconstitutional

Judge Vinson's Order Staying Health Care Reform Unconstitutional Ruling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinson, Roger 1940 births 2023 deaths 21st-century American judges Deaths from prostate cancer Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Military personnel from Kentucky People from Pensacola, Florida People from Trigg County, Kentucky United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators Vanderbilt University alumni