Lance Michael Africk (born December 1, 1951) is a senior United States district judge for the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (in case citations, E.D. La.) is a United States federal court based in New Orleans. Appeals from the Eastern District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of A ...

Education and career

The

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-born Africk 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 ...

from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

at Chapel Hill in 1973, and two years later 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 the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law (branded as Carolina Law) is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law sch ...

. From 1975 to 1976, 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 ...

to James Gulotta, a judge of the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. He entered the private practice of law in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

from 1976 to 1977, and was thereafter Director of the Career Criminal Bureau for the

Orleans Parish Orleans Parish (; ) is a parish of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of New Orleans, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city. History On April 10, 180 ...

District Attorney's Office from 1977 to 1980. He returned to private practice until 1982, and then became an Assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

until 1990. In 1986, he began teaching as an instructor at the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

Federal judicial service

Africk became a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

for the

in 1990. After the election of

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, ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, Africk changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. He did not obtain nomination for a judgeship under Clinton. On January 23, 2002, by which time he had returned to Republican registration, Africk was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to a seat on the

vacated by

Edith Brown Clement Edith Joy Brown Clement (born April 29, 1948) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Early life and education Clement was born on April 29, 1948, in ...

. 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 April 17, 2002, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2024. More

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Republicans opposed Bush's selection of Africk, whose past Democratic affiliation caused them discomfiture; the publication ''Gambit Weekly'' reported that shipbuilder Donald Thomas "Boysie" Bollinger of Lockport in

Lafourche Parish Lafourche Parish () is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, which consisted of the present ...

, a major GOP donor and the son of former party chairman Donald G. Bollinger, was the driving force behind the Africk nomination.

Notable case

On March 31, 2011, Africk sentenced former New Orleans police officer David Warren to 25 years and 9 months in federal prison on a federal civil rights violation of committing

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

with a firearm in the case of the death of Henry Glover. Africk sentenced another former officer, Greg McRae, to 17 years and 3 months in prison and three years of supervised release on

obstruction of justice In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investiga ...

and another

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

charge. "Henry Glover was not at the strip mall to commit suicide. He was there to retrieve some baby clothing. You killed a man. Despite your tendentious arguments to the contrary, it was no mistake," Africk told Warren. On December 17, 2012, the Fifth Circuit vacated Warren's conviction and one of the convictions related to McRae, ordering new trials on those charges. The three-judge panel found, among other concerns, that the trials of the two men should have been conducted separately. In 2013, Warren was acquitted. In 2014, Africk resentenced McRae to the same punishment. He dismissed calls for leniency on the grounds of Warren's acquittal, calling it "irrelevant." He said McRae's crime was separate and should be punished individually.

"You did not merely burn a corpse, you, a law enforcement officer, burned a corpse to obstruct justice."

In 2015, McRae was granted a resentencing hearing after his obstruction of justice conviction was overturned entirely. In 2016, Africk reduced McRae's sentence to 11 years and nine months, which was within the federal guidelines. However, he rejected calls for a greater reduction on the grounds that McRae was mentally disturbed at the time of the crime. He said a long prison sentence was still warranted due to the severity of the crime.

"The facts behind your conviction deal with much more than the burning of an automobile. By hiding behind a
blue wall of silence The blue wall of silence, also blue code and blue shield, are terms used to denote an informal code of silence among police officers in the United States not to report on a colleague's errors, misconduct, or crimes, especially as related to ...
, you were hiding the truth."

Other interests

Africk served as the 54th president of the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

Committee in 2011–2012, and oversaw the game in which the University of Michigan Wolverines defeated

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

in an overtime win. Thereafter he helped in the presentation of the Sugar Bowl Trophy to

Brady Hoke Brady Patrick Hoke (; born November 3, 1958) is a former American football coach. He was most well known for serving as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 2011 to 2014. He also served as the head football coach at Ball ...

and the Wolverines team.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Africk, Lance 1951 births Living people Assistant United States attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Louisiana Republicans Louisiana Democrats Lawyers from New York City Politicians from New Orleans United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush United States magistrate judges University of New Orleans faculty University of North Carolina School of Law alumni