Rossie David Alston Jr. (born May 31, 1957) is an American attorney and judge who is a

district judge District Judge may refer to: * A United States federal judge, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate * A judge in a state court (United States), where the state is divided into judicial districts * * A judge in the district courts ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

. He was appointed by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in 2019. He was formerly a Judge of the

Court of Appeals of Virginia The Court of Appeals of Virginia, established January 1, 1985, is an intermediate appellate court of 17 judges that hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's circuit courts and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The Court sits in pa ...

after having previously been a judge in the Prince William County

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

and the Prince William County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

Biography

Alston graduated from

Averett University Averett University is a private Baptist university in Danville, Virginia. Founded in 1859 as a women's college, Averett became a 4-year, coeducational institution in 1969. In 2011, the university restored its Baptist affiliation, renewing a relat ...

in 1979 and obtained his J.D. degree from the

North Carolina Central University School of Law The North Carolina Central University School of Law (also known as NCCU School of Law or NCCU Law) is the law school associated with North Carolina Central University. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the ...

in 1982. He worked as a staff attorney for the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

for two years before going into private practice. He was elected by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

to be a judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for the 31st

Judicial District A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By continent Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Aus ...

, encompassing

Prince William County Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

, in 1998. He was elected to the

in 2001. While on the circuit court, he presided over the case of

John Allen Muhammad John Allen Muhammad (born John Allen Williams; December 31, 1960 – November 10, 2009) was an American serial killer. He and his accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo carried out a series of shootings in ten states from February through September 20 ...

, the mastermind of the D.C. sniper attacks, which brought him national attention. He was selected by his colleagues to be Chief Judge of the circuit court in 2007, when that position became vacant upon the elevation of LeRoy F. Millette Jr. to the Court of Appeals. Alston was elevated to the

Virginia Court of Appeals The Court of Appeals of Virginia, established January 1, 1985, is an intermediate appellate court of 17 judges that hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's circuit courts and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The Court sits in pa ...

in 2009 to fill the vacancy created upon the retirement of Jean Harrison Clements. Alston was known to be tough on violent criminals and those he thought had squandered second chances. He is quoted as saying "If you deserve the hammer, you're getting the hammer." In another case a man whose 21-month-old child died in a sweltering van, the jury recommended a one-year prison sentence. However Alston instead ordered the father to spend a day in jail for seven years on the anniversary of his daughter's death and run an annual blood drive in her name. On March 4, 2016, the state Senate Courts of Justice Committee certified Alston as qualified for a seat on the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

after the Senate nominated him to be elected to a twelve-year term. He was blocked by Democrats in the House of Delegates from joining the state Supreme Court.

Federal judicial service

On June 7, 2018, President

announced his intent to nominate Alston to serve as 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

."President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Fourteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Ninth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees" White House, June 7, 2018
He was Trump's second

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 ...

federal judicial nominee. On June 18, 2018, his nomination was sent to 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 ...

. Trump nominated Alston to the seat on the vacated by Gerald Bruce Lee, who retired on September 30, 2017. On October 10, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

. On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the Senate. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Alston Jr. for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 20–2 vote. On June 5, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on Alston's nomination by a 74–19 vote. On June 10, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 75–20 vote. He received his judicial commission on June 12, 2019. In December 2023, Alston issued a

temporary restraining order An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

(TRO) preventing the U.S. Army from removing the 1914 Confederate Monument at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

, pending a hearing. This memorial was commissioned in 1914 by the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...

and is dedicated "To our dead heroes"; in 2022, the Renaming Commission recommended in a report to Congress the removal of the statuary, along with other

Confederate monuments and memorials Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States include public displays and symbols of the Confederate States of America (CSA), Confederate leaders, or Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. Many monuments and memorials Removal ...

on Defense Department property. However, some Republican politicians had expressed opposition to removing the memorial, expressing the belief that this Monument, the work of sculptor and Confederate veteran Sir Moses Ezekiel, commemorates the reconciliation of the North and South post-Appomattox and not the Confederate States of America. Alston's order was issued after a group called Defend Arlington, the plaintiffs seeking to halt the memorial's removal, alleged that Ezekiel's headstones was damaged during the removal. However, one day after issuing the TRO, Alston allow the removal to go forward, denying the plaintiff's request for a

preliminary injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

; during a hearing and in an order, Alston wrote that Defend Arlington had not come forward with evidence of any disturbance of graves, and during a site visit he had seen nothing supporting the group's claims. The Army resumed its removal work after Alston's order.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Rossie David Jr. 1957 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Virginia state court judges 21st-century American lawyers African-American judges Averett University alumni George Mason University faculty Antonin Scalia Law School faculty Judges of the Court of Appeals of Virginia Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia North Carolina Central University alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. United States Army soldiers United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump Virginia lawyers Virginia state court judges Virginia circuit court judges 20th-century African-American lawyers 21st-century African-American lawyers

Biography

Federal judicial service

See also

References

External links