Anne Elise Thompson (born July 8, 1934) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She was the first female and first African American federal judge in New Jersey.
Anne Elise Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey | |
| Assumed office June 1, 2001 | |
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey | |
| In office 1994–2001 | |
| Preceded by | John F. Gerry |
| Succeeded by | John Winslow Bissell |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey | |
| In office November 2, 1979 – June 1, 2001 | |
| Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629 |
| Succeeded by | Stanley R. Chesler |
| County Prosecutor of Mercer County, New Jersey | |
| In office 1975–1979 | |
| Judge of the Trenton Municipal Court | |
| In office 1972–1975 | |
| Municipal Prosecutor of the Lawrence Township | |
| In office 1970–1972 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anne Elise Jenkins[1] July 8, 1934[2] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Spouse | William H. Thompson[1] |
| Education | Howard University (BA, LLB) Temple University (MA) |
Early life
editAnne is the daughter of Leroy H. Jenkins and Mary E. Jackson.[1] Her father was a dentist and her mother was originally from Wilson, North Carolina, which was a town of strict segregation, but also was said to be "the bright leaf tobacco market for the East".[3]
Education and career
editThompson was born in Philadelphia. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1955, a Master of Arts from Temple University in 1957, and a Bachelor of Laws from Howard University School of Law in 1964. She was an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor of the United States Department of Labor in Chicago from 1964 to 1965. She was a grant writer for United Progress, Inc. from 1966 to 1967. She became an assistant deputy public defender for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender in the Mercer-Somerset-Hunterdon Region of Trenton, New Jersey from 1967 to 1970. She was the Municipal Prosecutor for Lawrence Township in Lawrenceville, New Jersey from 1970 to 1972. She was a municipal court judge for the City of Trenton, New Jersey from 1972 to 1975. She was a prosecutor for Mercer County, New Jersey from 1975 to 1979.[4]
Federal judicial service
editOn September 28, 1979, Thompson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey created by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 31, 1979, and received her commission on November 2, 1979. Judge Thompson was the first woman to serve as a federal district court judge in the state of New Jersey.[citation needed] She was also the first African American federal judge to serve in the state of New Jersey.[citation needed] She served as Chief Judge from 1994 to 2001, and assumed senior status on June 1, 2001.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c The International Who's Who of Women (2002) - page 572
- ^ Selection and confirmation of federal judges hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session (1979) - page 593
- ^ MARY ELISE JACKSON JENKINS OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
- ^ a b Anne Elise Thompson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Sources
edit- Anne Elise Thompson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.