Name William Acker Role Judge | Succeeded by Seat abolished Profession Attorney | |
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Alma mater Birmingham-Southern College B.A.Yale Law School LL.B. | ||
Episode 21: A Federal Judge's perspective on ERISA disability insurance claims
William Marsh Acker Jr. (born October 25, 1927) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Contents
- Episode 21 A Federal Judges perspective on ERISA disability insurance claims
- Education and career
- Federal judicial service
- Notable cases
- References
Education and career
Acker was born in Birmingham, Alabama and served in the United States Army as a private first class from 1946 to 1947. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Birmingham–Southern College in 1949 and a Bachelor of Laws from Yale Law School in 1952. He was an attorney in private practice in Birmingham for thirty years, from 1952 to 1982.
Federal judicial service
Acker was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 22, 1982, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Frank Hampton McFadden. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 18, 1982, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1996.
Notable cases
In 2007, Acker recommended that the United States Attorney charge Richard Scruggs and the Scruggs Law Firm with criminal contempt for leaking documents in violation of a court order; in 2008, he accused Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood of conspiring with Scruggs to skirt the court order.
In 2008, Acker held the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act unconstitutional for imposing disproportionate punitive damages on defendants who cause no harm. Acker's decision was overturned in 2009.