O. Rogeriee Thompson

O. Rogeriee Thompson
Do you have a photo that could go here? Submit it for this profile by emailing us!
Current Court Information:
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Title:	Judge
Position:	Seat #6
Station:	Providence, RI
Service:
Appointed by:	Barack Obama
Approval vote:	98-0
Active:	3/17/2010 - Present
Preceded by:	Bruce Marshall Selya
Past post:	Rhode Island Superior Court
Past term:	1997-2010
Personal History
Born:	8/8/1951
Home State:	Anderson, SC
Bachelors:	Brown U. '73
Law School:	Boston U. Law '76

Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson (born August 8, 1951) is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She was nominated to the court by President Obama in 2009 and confirmed to the court on March 17, 2010. Prior to her appointment, she served on the bench on the Rhode Island Superior Court.

Early life and education

Judge Thompson was born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina. She is the descendant of a plantation owner (her great-grandfather) who bought her great-grandmother at a slave auction. The two later raised a family together. She received an A.B. in 1973 from Brown University, and a J.D. in 1976 from Boston University School of Law. Thompson also holds honorary degrees from the University of Rhode Island and Bryant College.

Professional career

Thompson began her legal career as a Reginald Haber Smith Fellow working with Rhode Island Legal Services where she was eventually promoted to the Senior Attorney position for the Family Law Unit. She later entered private practice in Rhode Island, forming a partnership with her sister. During this time she also served as the Assistant City Solicitor for the city of Providence.

Judicial career

Rhode Island District/Superior Court

Thompson joined the Rhode Island District Court in 1988 as the first African American woman to serve on the bench. In 1997 she was elevated from the District Court to the Rhode Island Superior Court. She served at this post until her appointment to the federal bench in 2010. While she served in Rhode Island, Thompson chaired the court's Ad Hoc Task Force on Limited English Speaking Litigants which helped establish the Office of Court Interpreters to aid non-english speakers in understanding the full process of the judicial system.

First Circuit

Thompson was nominated for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by President Obama on October 6, 2009. She was recommended to the President by Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse who called her "highly qualified". She was nominated to fill the seat vacated by Bruce Marshall Selya which is traditionally held by a Rhode Islander. The rating the Thompson received from the American Bar Association was only "satisfactory".

A hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee occurred on December 1, 2009. The only committee members in attendance for her hearing were Al Franken and Sheldon Whitehouse; none of the Republican members of the committee were present, suggesting that she was a non-controversial nominee. You can find Thompson's Public Questionnaire here and Questions for the Record here.

On January 21, 2010, the Committee voted to move Thompson's nomination to a vote before the full Senate. The Senate confirmed her to the court on March 17, 2010 by a vote of 98 - 0. Thompson is the first black and the second female judge to serve the First District.

Awards and associations

• Thompson received the "Women of Excellence Award" in 2006 from the Women's Center of Rhode Island.
• Thompson is an inductee of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame of Providence for 2010.

Notable cases

Stolen gun liability case

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit      *Jones v. Secord 11-1576

On July 6, 2012, a three judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the ruling of Judge Paul Barbadoro of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire who held that a New Hampshire man could not be held liable for the use of his handgun in a violent crime. Gail Jones, the mother of a shooting victim, filed a lawsuit alleging that Lawrence Secord was liable for the use of his handgun by his grandson in an armed robbery that resulted in three fatalities in 2007. Secord's gun was stolen by his grandson, who broke into a locked summer cabin to obtain the firearm. Barbadoro agreed with Secord that he had taken proper precautions to secure his firearm. Judge Bruce Marshall Selya agreed, writing the opinion of the panel of Judges Jeffrey R. Howard and O. Rogeriee Thompson. He stated in the opinion, "The record here, even when construed in the light most flattering to the plaintiff, does not show either a particularized risk of harm or a degree of foreseeability sufficient to animate this exception." Jones told the press she brought the lawsuit on to raise awareness of gun storage and risk, telling the press, "Firearms are very dangerous when they're in the wrong hands."

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• News: 1st Circuit upholds NH District Court gun liability ruling, July 12, 2012

External links

• First Circuit website
• Judge Thompson Bio from the Federal Judicial Center

References

Federal judicial offices
Preceded by: Bruce Marshall Selya	First Circuit 2010–present Seat #6	Succeeded by: NA