Sterling Johnson Jr. (May 14, 1934 – October 10, 2022) 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, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, ...

. Before his appointment to the bench in 1991, Johnson was an attorney for 25 years, specializing in drug enforcement and the prosecution of narcotics cases. As

Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York The Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York is a city-wide position appointed by the five county district attorneys of New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of felony violations of narcotics laws within New Yo ...

, he supervised assistant district attorneys and investigators responsible for the preparation and prosecution of more than 7,000 criminal cases. He has been a guest lecturer at many American universities and law schools, as well as in various countries.

Education and career

Johnson was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York City. 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 yea ...

degree from Brooklyn College in 1963. He received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

in 1966. He was in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

from 1952 to 1955. Johnson was a police officer of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest i ...

from 1956 to 1967. He was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...

of the Southern District of New York from 1967 to 1970. He was the executive director of the Civilian Complaint Review Board of the New York City Police Department from 1970 to 1974. He was an executive liaison officer of the

United States Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

from 1974 to 1975. He was a special narcotics prosecutor for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

from 1975 to 1991. He was a Commissioner of the

United States Sentencing Commission The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for articulating the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for the federal courts. The Commission promulgat ...

from 1999 to 2003.

Federal judicial service

Johnson was nominated by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

on May 17, 1991, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Joseph M. McLaughlin Joseph Michael McLaughlin (March 20, 1933 – August 8, 2013) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern Di ...

. 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 ...

on June 27, 1991, and received commission on July 2, 1991. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on June 1, 2003. Johnson died on October 10, 2022, aged 88.

Other service

Johnson was a founding member of

NOBLE A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Grea ...

, a national organization of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

police officers.

References

External links

*
Official biography
*NOBLE National {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Sterling 1934 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges African-American judges African-American police officers Assistant United States Attorneys Brooklyn College alumni Brooklyn Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Members of the United States Sentencing Commission Military personnel from New York City New York City Police Department officers United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush United States Marines United States Navy officers

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Other service

See also

References

External links