Roger Vinson | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | |
| In office March 31, 2005 – April 1, 2023 | |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | |
| In office 1997–2004 | |
| Preceded by | Maurice M. Paul |
| Succeeded by | Robert Lewis Hinkle |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | |
| In office October 5, 1983 – March 31, 2005 | |
| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Lynn Carlton Higby |
| Succeeded by | John Richard Smoak Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clyde Roger Vinson (1940-02-19)February 19, 1940 Cadiz, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | April 1, 2023(2023-04-01) (aged 83) |
| Education | United States Naval Academy (B.S.) Vanderbilt University Law School (J.D.) |
Clyde Roger Vinson (February 19, 1940 – April 1, 2023) was aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Until May 3, 2013, he was also a member of theUnited States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.[1][2]
Born inCadiz, Kentucky, Vinson attended theUnited States Naval Academy and graduated in 1962 with aBachelor of Science inengineering. He served atNaval Air Station Pensacola as anaval aviator from 1962 to 1968, attaining the rank oflieutenant. After his service, he attendedVanderbilt University Law School and received hisJuris Doctor in 1971. Returning toPensacola, Florida, Vinson joined the law firm of Beggs & Lane, where he practiced general civil law from 1971 to 1983.[3]
Vinson was nominated by PresidentRonald Reagan on September 9, 1983, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Florida vacated by JudgeLynn Carlton Higby. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on October 4, 1983, and received his commission on October 5, 1983. He served as chief judge from 1997 to 2004. He assumedsenior status on March 31, 2005.[3]
Vinson was appointed to serve a seven-year term on theUnited States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, effective May 4, 2006.[4] As a member of the FISA court, Vinson issued atop secret court order on April 25, 2013, requiringVerizon's Business Network Services to providemetadata on all calls in its system to theNational Security Agency "on an ongoing daily basis".[5][6]
In 2010, Vinson was assigned to hear a case,Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, brought by a group of 26 states that was filed with support by 22attorneys general and four governors challenging the constitutionality of the newPatient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), specifically its requirement that most individuals obtain medical insurance. The suit is the second of more than 15 lawsuits filed against the act that has advanced to this stage of litigation.[12]
On January 31, 2011, Vinson ruled that theindividual mandate provision of the PPACA violated theConstitution by regulating economic inactivity, and as the mandate is notseverable the entire statute was ruled unconstitutional. Vinson allowed the law to stand while it was being appealed by theObama administration.[13][14] Vinson later issued astay to his January ruling, allowing implementation to proceed while its constitutionality was weighed.[15][16]
Vinson is noted for being a hardline judge who refused to depart from maximum sentences in spite of their severity, even though he agreed his very own sentences were far too high. In his own words: "The punishment is supposed to fit the crime, but when a legislative body says this is going to be the sentence no matter what other factors there are, that's draconian in every sense of the word. Mandatory sentences breed injustice."[17]
In 2009, Vinson was installed as president of the AmericanCamellia Society.[18]
Vinson died from prostate cancer on April 1, 2023, aged 83.[19]
Twelve of the 14 judges who have served this year on the most secret court in America are Republicans and half are former prosecutors.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Florida 1983–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Florida 1997–2004 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
