James R. Spencer

James Randolph Spencer was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1949. He attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1971. He later attended Harvard Law School, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1974.

After Harvard, he was commissioned as a Captain in the United States Army JAG Corps. He served in that capacity from 1975 until 1978. After being Honorably Discharged from the active duty, he took a job as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, serving there from 1978 until 1983. He also was recommissioned in the U.S. Army Reserves, serving as a Military Judge from 1981 until 1986. From 1983 until 1986, he served as an Assistant United States District Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

James R. Spencer was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 9, 1986 to the position of United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 8, 1986 and received his commission on October 14, 1986. He was the first African American to be nominated to this position in this district.

In 1985, Judge Spencer earned [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2253] a master of divinity degree from Howard University.

In 2004 Judge Spencer became Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Notable Cases

Judge Spencer presided over the patent infringement case of Research In Motion (makers of BlackBerry(tm) mobile email devices) versus NTP Inc., (owners of the patents on mobile push email technology).