Roger Hugh Lawson Jr. (September 23, 1941 – March 29, 2024) 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 Middle District of Georgia The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia (in case citations, M.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of seventy counties from five divisions from its headquarters in Macon, Georgia. Appeals from c ...

Education and career

Born in

Hawkinsville, Georgia Hawkinsville is a city in Middle Georgia and the county seat of Pulaski County, Georgia, United States. As of 2020, it has a population of 3,980. The city is known as the "Harness Horse Capital of Georgia" and holds an annual Harness Horse Fest ...

, in 1941, Lawson 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

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1963 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

Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University, a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the American Association of Law ...

in 1964. He was in private practice in Hawkinsville from 1965 to 1979. He was a judge of the Superior Court of Georgia, Oconee Judicial Circuit of Georgia from 1979 to 1995.

Federal judicial service

On August 10, 1995, Lawson was nominated by 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, ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Wilbur D. Owens, Jr. Lawson 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 December 22, 1995, and received his commission on December 26, 1995. He served as chief judge from 2006 to 2008, assuming senior status on December 31, 2008. Lawson died on March 29, 2024, at the age of 82.Middle District of Georgia judge dies at 82
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Hugh 1941 births 2024 deaths Emory University alumni Emory University School of Law alumni Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia People from Hawkinsville, Georgia Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton 20th-century Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges 21st-century American judges