Robinson, Spottswood W. III
1916-1998 · Contribution: 1960s-1980s
Pioneering opinions on civil rights, equal employment law, and administrative law as a federal appellate judge

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Impact on the world
Wrote pioneering federal appellate opinions on civil rights, equal employment law, and administrative law over 23 years on the bench, after working alongside Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley on landmark civil rights litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Life & background
A NAACP attorney who worked alongside Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley on major civil rights litigation, Robinson went on to serve 23 years on the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he authored pioneering opinions on civil rights, equal employment law, and administrative law.
Sources
- History.com (6 Influential African American Judges); Encyclopedia Virginia (Spottswood William Robinson III); NAACP Legal Defense Fund (Legal Minds Behind Brown v. Board)
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