Jerry W. Blackwell Explained

Jerry Blackwell
Office:Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Term Start:December 20, 2022
Appointer:Joe Biden
Predecessor:Susan Richard Nelson
Birth Name:Jerry Wayne Blackwell
Education:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BS, JD)

Jerry Wayne Blackwell (born 1962)[1] is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Before becoming a judge, he was one of the prosecutors in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Education

On a Morehead-Cain Scholarship, Blackwell earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1987.[2] [3]

Career

From 1987 to 2022, Blackwell was a lawyer in private practice. He worked as a partner at Robins Kaplan LLP in Minneapolis from 1987 to 1996 and Nilan Johnson Lewis from 1996 to 2000. From 2000 to 2006, he was a partner at Blackwell Igbanugo in Edina, Minnesota,[4] one of the nation's largest Black-owned law firms before it was dissolved.[5] In 2006, he co-founded the law firm Blackwell Burke in Minneapolis.

Notable cases

During his career, Blackwell represented Prince.[6] [7] [8]

In 2020, Blackwell obtained a posthumous pardon of Max Mason, a Black man falsely convicted in Duluth, Minnesota, of raping a white woman in 1920.[9]

Blackwell was a special assistant state attorney general for the prosecution during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd.[10] [11] Blackwell served as a pro bono prosecutor and delivered the opening statement and closing argument for the prosecution.[12] In closing, he said to the jury, "You were told, for example, that Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big. You heard that testimony. Now having seen all the evidence, having heard all the evidence, you know the truth. And the truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin's heart was too small."[13]

Federal judicial service

On June 15, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Blackwell to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota to the seat vacated by Judge Susan Richard Nelson, who assumed senior status on December 31, 2021.[14] On July 27, 2022, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[15] On September 15, 2022, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–8 vote, Senator Thom Tillis "passed" on the vote.[16] On December 1, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 54–42 vote.[17] On December 7, 2022, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–43 vote.[18] He received his judicial commission on December 20, 2022.

Personal life

Blackwell is a hobby farmer and beekeeper.[19]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. July 26, 2022.
  2. Web site: June 15, 2022 . President Biden Names Nineteenth Round of Judicial Nominees . June 15, 2022 . The White House . en-US.
  3. Web site: Jerry W. Blackwell . June 15, 2022 . en-US.
  4. Sam Black, "Disputes lead to split of top black-owned law firm", Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, November 19, 2006.
  5. Web site: Wagner . Rose . June 15, 2022 . Seven new judicial nominees put Biden over the 100-pick marker . June 15, 2022 . www.courthousenews.com.
  6. Web site: Prince: 5 years after his death, how the Purple One lives on . July 19, 2022 . Star Tribune.
  7. Web site: The Prince 'Purple House' in Chanhassen is leveled . July 19, 2022 . prince.org.
  8. Web site: Voruganti . Harsh . July 18, 2022 . Jerry Blackwell – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota . July 19, 2022 . The Vetting Room . en.
  9. Web site: Shropshire . Terry . March 30, 2021 . Who is Jerry Blackwell, the prosecutor in Derek Chauvin's murder trial? . July 19, 2022 . Rolling Out . en-US.
  10. News: Biden's Planned Nominee Would Be DC Circuit's First Latino (2) . news.bloomberglaw.com.
  11. Web site: Jerry W. Blackwell, prosecutor in the Derek Chauvin trial, to speak with Jones and Lovelace on Race, Policing, and Activism . June 15, 2022 . Duke University School of Law . en.
  12. Web site: Biden nominates prosecutor who helped convict Derek Chauvin to become a federal judge . June 15, 2022 .
  13. Web site: Derek Chauvin's 'heart was too small,' prosecutor says in last word to jury . July 19, 2022 . news.yahoo.com . April 19, 2021 . en-US.
  14. Nominations Sent to the Senate. June 15, 2022. The White House. Washington, D.C..
  15. Web site: Nominations. July 26, 2022. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Washington, D.C..
  16. Web site: Results of Executive Business Meeting – September 15, 2022. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. September 15, 2022.
  17. Web site: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Jerry W. Blackwell to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Minnesota). December 1, 2022. United States Senate. December 1, 2022.
  18. Web site: December 7, 2022. On the Nomination (Confirmation: Jerry W. Blackwell, of Minnesota, to be United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota). December 7, 2022. United States Senate.
  19. Web site: Meet the prosecutor who helped convict Derek Chauvin . July 19, 2022 . MPR News . May 24, 2021 . en.

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