Roger Vinson

Born in Cadiz, Kentucky, Vinson attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in engineering. He served at Naval Air Station Pensacola as a naval aviator from 1962 to 1968, attaining the rank of lieutenant. After his service, he attended Vanderbilt University Law School and received his Juris Doctor in 1971. Returning to Pensacola, Florida, Vinson joined the law firm of Beggs & Lane, where he practiced general civil law from 1971 to 1983.{{FJC Bio|nid=1389181}}

Vinson was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 9, 1983, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida vacated by Judge Lynn Carlton Higby. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 4, 1983, and received his commission on October 5, 1983. He served as chief judge from 1997 to 2004. He assumed senior status on March 31, 2005.

Vinson was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, effective May 4, 2006.{{cite web |first=Steven |last=Aftergood |title=New FISA Court Judge Appointed |url=http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2006/05/new_fisa_court_judge_appointed.html |publisher=Secrecy News |work=Federation of American Scientists |date=May 24, 2006 |access-date=June 6, 2014}} As a member of the FISA court, Vinson issued a top secret court order on April 25, 2013, requiring Verizon's Business Network Services to provide metadata on all calls in its system to the National Security Agency "on an ongoing daily basis".{{cite news |first=Glenn |last=Greenwald |author-link=Glenn Greenwald |title=NSA collecting phone records of millions of Americans daily |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/nsa-phone-records-verizon-court-order |work=The Guardian |date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=June 6, 2013}}Charlie Savage and Edward Wyatt, [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/us/us-secretly-collecting-logs-of-business-calls.html?hp&_r=0 "U.S. Is Secretly Collecting Records of Verizon Calls"], The New York Times, June 5, 2013. Accessed June 6, 2013.

• Four defendants of abortion clinic bombing, 1985Staff report (April 25, 1985). [https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/25/us/2-of-4-are-guilty-of-clinic-bombing.html 2 of 4 Are Guilty of Clinic Bombing.] The New York Times
• Escambia County, Florida ordinance banning The Last Temptation of Christ, 1988Associated Press (September 11, 1988). [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/11/us/judge-overturns-ban-on-film.html Judge Overturns Ban on Film.] The New York Times
• Shoney's $134 million race discrimination settlement, 1993Staff report (January 28, 1993). [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/28/business/shoney-s-bias-suit-settled.html Shoney's Bias Suit Settled.] The New York Times
• Paul Jennings Hill (federal Clinic Access Law charges), 1994Smothers, Ronald (October 6, 1994). [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40D15F839590C758CDDA90994DC494D81&scp=1&sq=%22Abortion%20Protester%20Is%20Guilty%20Under%20Clinic%20Access%20Law%22&st=cseAbortion Protester Is Guilty Under Clinic Access Law.] The New York Times
• Sentenced Financial Manager Marcus Schrenker, who attempted to fake his own death by parachuting out of his plane after charges were brought against him for securities fraud, to four years in federal prison in 2009.Martinez, Edecio (August 21, 2009). [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/millionaire-who-faked-death-sobs-in-court-gets-4-years/ Millionaire Who Faked Death Sobs in Court; Gets 4 Years.] CBS News

In 2010, Vinson was assigned to hear a case, Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, brought by a group of 26 states that was filed with support by 22 attorneys general and four governors challenging the constitutionality of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), specifically its requirement that most individuals obtain medical insurance. The suit is the second of more than 15 lawsuits filed against the act that has advanced to this stage of litigation.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/health/policy/15health.html|title=Suit on Health Care Bill Appears Likely to Advance|date=September 14, 2010|first=Kevin|last=Sack|newspaper=The New York Times}}

On January 31, 2011, Vinson ruled that the individual mandate provision of the PPACA violated the Constitution by regulating economic inactivity, and as the mandate is not severable the entire statute was ruled unconstitutional. Vinson allowed the law to stand while it was being appealed by the Obama administration.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/us/01ruling.html|title=Federal Judge Rules Health Law Violates Constitution|date=January 31, 2011|access-date=January 31, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Kevin|last=Sack}}{{cite web |title=Health Care Ruling by Judge Vinson |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/47905937/Health-Care-Ruling-by-Judge-Vinson |work=Scribd |type=preview |date=January 31, 2011 |access-date=June 6, 2013}} Vinson later issued a stay to his January ruling, allowing implementation to proceed while its constitutionality was weighed.Kendall, Brent (March 4, 2011). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703300904576178601234496560 Health Overhaul Is Given Reprieve.] Wall Street Journal{{cite web |title=Judge Vinson's Order Staying Health Care Reform Unconstitutional Ruling |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/49955133/Judge-Vinson-s-Order-Staying-Health-Care-Reform-Unconstitutional-Ruling |work=Scribd |type=full text |date=March 3, 2011 |access-date=June 6, 2013}}

Vinson is noted for being a hardline judge who refused to depart from maximum sentences in spite of their severity, even though he agreed his very own sentences were far too high. In his own words: "The punishment is supposed to fit the crime, but when a legislative body says this is going to be the sentence no matter what other factors there are, that's draconian in every sense of the word. Mandatory sentences breed injustice."{{cite news |first=John |last=Tierney |title=For Lesser Crimes, Rethinking Life Behind Bars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/science/mandatory-prison-sentences-face-growing-skepticism.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |work=The New York Times |date=December 11, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2013}}

In 2009, Vinson was installed as president of the American Camellia Society.{{cite web |title=American Camellia Society Board of Directors |url=http://www.camellias-acs.com/display.aspx?catid=7,10&pageid=669 |work=American Camillia Society |year=2010 |access-date=June 6, 2013}}

Vinson died from prostate cancer on April 1, 2023, aged 83.{{cite web |title=Pensacola federal judge Roger Vinson passes away after battle with cancer |url=https://weartv.com/news/local/pensacola-federal-judge-roger-vinson-passes-away-after-battle-with-cancer |website=WEAR |access-date=3 April 2023 |language=en |date=3 April 2023}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{FJC Bio|nid=1389181}}
• [http://faculty.rwu.edu/dzlotnick/profiles/vinson.html Profile on Sentencing Policy]
• [https://www.scribd.com/doc/47905937/Health-Care-Ruling-by-Judge-Vinson Judge Vinson ruling declaring Obama healthcare unconstitutional]
• [https://www.scribd.com/doc/49955133/Judge-Vinson-s-Order-Staying-Health-Care-Reform-Unconstitutional-Ruling Judge Vinson's Order Staying Health Care Reform Unconstitutional Ruling]

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{{s-legal}}

{{s-bef|before=Lynn Carlton Higby}}

{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida}}|years=1983–2005}}

{{s-aft|after=John Richard Smoak Jr.}}

{{s-bef|before=Maurice M. Paul}}

{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida}}|years=1997–2004}}

{{s-aft|after=Robert Lewis Hinkle}}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinson, Roger}}

Category:1940 births

Category:2023 deaths

Category:21st-century American judges

Category:Deaths from prostate cancer

Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida

Category:Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Category:Military personnel from Kentucky

Category:People from Pensacola, Florida

Category:People from Trigg County, Kentucky

Category:United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan

Category:United States Naval Academy alumni

Category:United States Naval Aviators

Category:Vanderbilt University alumni