Harold Baron Jackson Jr. (December 28, 1939February 14, 2016) was an American lawyer and judge from

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He was a Wisconsin circuit court judge in

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

for 12 years and was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

circuit court judge in Wisconsin history. Earlier, he served as president of the Milwaukee School Board and was also the first African American to hold that office.

Early life and education

Harold Jackson Jr. was 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 ...

, on December 28, 1939. He was raised and attended public schools in Washington until age 13. Rather than sending him to Washington's Dunbar High School, his mother opted to send him to Lawrence Academy, in

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. An affluent bedroom community roughly 45 miles from Boston, Groton has a ...

. He graduated in 1957 with a distinguished academic and athletic record. He received a football scholarship to

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

, and when Marquette terminated their football program, they offered him a basketball scholarship instead. After high school, he was also invited to try out for the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Hawks Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and othe ...

, survived the final cuts, and made the roster, but his father convinced him to finish his education instead. He ultimately earned his J.D. from

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Mil ...

in 1967.

Legal and judicial career

Shortly after being admitted to the bar, he was hired as an

assistant district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represe ...

, working for district attorney

Hugh R. O'Connell Hugh R. O'Connell (July 22, 1919June 30, 1987) was an American attorney and judge from Wisconsin. He was a Wisconsin circuit courts, Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County from 1968 until his retirement in ...

. He was the first African American assistant district attorney in Wisconsin and was described as one of the sharpest legal minds in the district attorney's office. In 1969, Jackson left the district attorney's office and started a law partnership with Michael Clark, known as Jackson & Clark. During these years, he also worked as an assistant professor of law at Marquette University. The following year, he was appointed to the Milwaukee School Board, and a year later he was voted president of the school board by the school board members. Again, he was the first African American to hold this office. He resigned from the board in 1972, saying he needed to devote more time to his law practice. In December 1973, Jackson was appointed a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, by Governor

Patrick Lucey Patrick Joseph Lucey (March 21, 1918 – May 10, 2014) was an American politician. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he served as the 38th governor of Wisconsin from 1971 to 1977. He was also independent president ...

. Once again, he was the first African American to serve in this capacity. He was elected to a full term in 1975, without opposition, and was re-elected in 1981, again without facing opposition. He resigned from the court in 1986, taking a job as senior counsel for the

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services for about 1.1 million people in 28 communities in the Greater Milwaukee Area. A recipient of the ...

. For several years during the 1990s, while serving with the Sewerage District, he was also appointed a

special master In the law of the United States, a special master is an official appointed by a judge to ensure judicial orders are followed, or in the alternative, to hear evidence on behalf of the judge and make recommendations to the judge as to the dispositi ...

to oversee the implementation of the

consent decree A consent decree is an agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt (in a criminal case) or liability (in a civil case). Most often it is such a type of settlement in the United States. The ...

on overcrowding in Milwaukee County jail. Where he was entrusted to keep the jail population below a critical level, meaning if new people had to be jailed, he would have to determine which others should be released.

Personal life and family

Harold Jackson Jr. was the son of groundbreaking New York

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Hal Jackson Harold Baron Jackson (3 November 1915 – 23 May 2012) was an American disc jockey and radio personality who broke a number of color barriers in American radio broadcasting. Biography Early years Jackson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, ...

and his second wife, Julia (' Hawkins) Jackson. Jewell Jackson McCabe was Harold Jr.'s young sister. Harold Jackson Jr. was married three times. He had two daughters with his first wife, Rita Suzanne McCabe, and another daughter with his second wife Dolores Dross Haig. Later in life, he married Kathleen Davis, who survived him. He died on February 14, 2016.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Harold B. Jr. 1939 births 2016 deaths Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Lawyers from Milwaukee Marquette University alumni Marquette University Law School alumni Wisconsin circuit court judges African-American judges 20th-century African-American lawyers