Twofer Tuesday so lets do a little Judicial Review by taking a look at two famous court cases that involved a Federal Judge who had ties to and actually lived in St. Mary’s County. (Note, I learned of all this just last week when I was looking up Enterprise articles that referenced Sidwell Friends for my post on how Sidwell conducted class trips to Buzzy’s Country Store (click here.) I was very pleased to find this excellent 1999 article written by my friend Viki Volk Russell wherein she discusses Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson and his wife Patricia. Pat was the Sidwell Friends’ connection as she worked for the school as their Director of Development. Guess I need to talk to her to see if she had anything to do with Sidwell making their class trips to St. Mary’s County.)
Here is the beginning of Viki’s article on Pat and Judge Jackson. (To read rest of article, click on link below Judge Jackson’s photo.)
The Microsoft antitrust case was probably the most famous and controversial one that Judge Jackson presided over. However, I am betting that it was another famous case he presided over that you will probably recognize and recall a little more because it launched the classic “Bitch set me up” as an excuse for getting caught. Check out this video: Washington in the 90s | Arrest of Marion Barry | PBS
Judge Jackson presided over that case and eventually sentenced Mayor Barry to jail as a result, bitch setting him up or not.
After retiring to live in Compton, Judge Jackson was very active at St. Mary’s College where he served on the Board of Trustees, taught classes and served as a mentor to students (click here.) He passed away in 2013 at the age of 76 after battling cancer (click here.) His wife Pat still resides in Compton.
Music-wise, found this David Allen Coe parody with a legal twist to it: