Myron Thompson
2013 - Present
11
Myron Herbert Thompson is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. He joined the court in 1980 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter. From 1991 to 1998, Thompson served as the chief judge of the district court.
Early life and education
A native of Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Thompson graduated from Yale University with his bachelor's degree in 1969 and from Yale Law School with his J.D. in 1972.[1]
Professional career
- 1980 - Present: United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
- 2013 - Present: Senior judge
- 1980-2013: Judge
- 1991-1998: Chief judge
- 1974-1980: Private practice, Montgomery, Ala.
- 1972-1974: Assistant attorney general, Alabama [1]
Judicial career
Middle District of Alabama
Thompson was nominated to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama by President Jimmy Carter on September 17, 1980, to a seat vacated by Frank Johnson, Jr.. Thompson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 26, 1980, and he received his commission on September 29, 1980. Thompson served as the chief judge of the court from 1991 to 1998. He elected to take senior status beginning on August 22, 2013.[1]
Noteworthy cases
Federal judge blocks Alabama abortion law (2019)
A federal judge blocked a law prohibiting abortions in the state except those necessary to prevent a serious health risk to the woman from going into effect on October 29, 2019.
Judge Myron Thompson issued an injunction against House Bill 314, which prohibited abortions in the state except those necessary to prevent a serious health risk to the woman. The law reclassified performing an abortion as a felony punishable with up to 99 years in prison for doctors performing it.[2] The law was set to take effect on November 15, 2019.
“The court is persuaded that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the Act violates an individual’s constitutional right to obtain a pre-viability abortion, and thus that it violates her constitutional rights,” Thompson said in his order.
"Abortion remains legal in Alabama," said Randall Marshall, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama. "The state’s repeated attempts to push abortion out of reach by enacting unconstitutional laws restricting abortions have already cost taxpayers nearly $2.5 million. This ill-advised law will cost taxpayers more money."
“The district court’s decision to grant the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction of Alabama’s 2019 abortion law as to pre-viability abortions was not unexpected," said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. "As we have stated before, the State’s objective is to advance our case to the U.S. Supreme Court where we intend to submit evidence that supports our argument that Roe and Casey were wrongly decided and that the Constitution does not prohibit states from protecting unborn children from abortion.”
Articles:
See also
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
- United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Frank Johnson, Jr. |
Middle District of Alabama 1980–2013 Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: Emily Coody Marks
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |
Ballantine • Bownes • Boyle • Bua • Carr • Clark • Cowan • Daly • Filippine • Higginbotham • Hoeveler • Hug • Johnstone • Kane • Keith • Leval • Logan • MacLaughlin • McKay • Melton • Merritt • Murphy • Nickerson • Oberdorfer • Roszkowski • Roy • Rubin • Sifton • Tang • Vance • Veron | ||
| 1978 |
Arnold • Baker • Boyle • Burns • Campos • Claiborne • Collins • Cook • Devine • Diamond • Duplantier • Edenfield • Friedman • Gonzalez • Greene • Jenkins • Lowe • Mazzone • McMillian • O'Brien • Pfaelzer • Phillips • Pollak • Sand • Shapiro • Simmons • Smith • Sweet • Tanner • Wiseman • Ziegler | ||
| 1979 |
Ackerman • Alarcon • Anderson • Arceneaux • Arnold • Aspen • Beatty • Beer • Belew • Bertelsman • Bilby • N. Black • S. Black • Bloch • Bowen • Brett • Brooks • Brown • Buchmeyer • Bunton • Burciaga • Cabranes • Carr • Carrigan • Castagna • Cire • Clark • Cohn • Conaboy • Cordova • Crabb • Cudahy • Davis • DeAnda • Debevoise • Edwards • Eginton • Ellison • Enslen • O. Evans • T. Evans • Farris • Ferguson • Fletcher • Frye • Garcia • Garza • B. Gibson • H. Gibson • Gierbolini-Ortiz • Giles • Gilliam • Green • Hall • Hastings • Hatchett • Hatfield • Hatter • Hawkins • Henderson • Higby • Hillman • Houck • Howard • Hudspeth • Hungate • F. Johnson • S. Johnson • N. Jones • S. Jones • Karlton • Kazen • Kearse • Keeton • Kehoe • Kennedy • Kidd • King • Kravitch • Loughlin • Martin • McCurn • McDonald • McNaught • McNichols • Mikva • Mitchell • Moran • Murnaghan • Murphy • D. Nelson • D.W. Nelson • Newblatt • Newman • Overton • Paine • Panner • J. Parker • R. Parker • Penn • Perez-Gimenez • Perry • Politz • Poole • Porter • Pregerson • Price • Rambo • Ramirez • Reavley • Redden • E. Reed • S. Reed • Reinhardt • Renner • Robinson • Rothstein • Sachs • Saffels • Sanders • Sarokin • Schroeder • Schwartz • Seay • Senter • Seymour • Shannon • Shaw • Shoob • Skopil • Sloviter • Sofaer • Spellman • Sprouse • Staker • Tate • Taylor • Thompson • Tidwell • Unthank • Vietor • Vining • Wald • Ward • Weinshienk • West • Wicker • Williams • Winder • Woods • Wright • Zobel | ||
| 1980 |
Aguilar • Aldrich • Anderson • Boochever • Breyer • Britt • Cahill • Canby • Carroll • Cerezo • Clemon • S. Ervin • R. Erwin • Getzendanner • Gilmore • Ginsburg • Haltom • Hardy • Henderson • Hobbs • Holschuh • Horton • Howard • Johnson • Keep • Kelly • Kenyon • Kocoras • Marquez • Marshall • Michael • Nixon • Norris • Patel • Polozola • Propst • Quackenbush • Ramsey • Rice • Shadur • Spiegel • Tashima • Thompson • Vela • White • Williams | ||
| 1981 | |||
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama
State courts:
Alabama Supreme Court • Alabama Court of Civil Appeals • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals • Alabama Circuit Courts • Alabama Municipal Courts • Alabama Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Alabama • Alabama judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alabama
