Robert Luke Vining Jr. (March 30, 1931 – September 1, 2022) was an American lawyer who served as a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
from 1979 to 2022.
Education and career
Born in
Chatsworth, Georgia
Chatsworth is a city in Murray County, Georgia, United States, specifically in the Dalton, Georgia Dalton metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 4,874 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is the cou ...
, Vining was a
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
staff Sergeant from 1951 to 1955. He received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
in 1959 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of Georgia School of Law in 1959. He was in private practice in
Dalton, Georgia from 1958 to 1969, serving as solicitor general of the Conasauga Judicial Circuit from 1963 to 1968. He was a superior court judge of the Conasauga Judicial Circuit from 1969 to 1979.
Federal judicial service
On June 14, 1979, Vining was nominated by President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
to a new seat on the
created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on July 23, 1979, and received his commission on July 24, 1979. He served as Chief Judge from 1995 to 1996, assuming
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on March 31, 1996.
Personal life and death
Vining died on September 1, 2022, at the age of 91.
See also
*
List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
This is a list of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. The judges on the lists below were presidential appointees who have been confirmed by the Senate, and who served on the federal bench for over 40 years. It includ ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vining, Robert L. Jr.
1931 births
2022 deaths
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges
Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats
Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)
People from Chatsworth, Georgia
People from Dalton, Georgia
Superior court judges in the United States
United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter
University of Georgia alumni
University of Georgia School of Law alumni