Matthew J. Perry Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina | |
| In office October 1, 1995 – July 29, 2011 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina | |
| In office September 20, 1979 – October 1, 1995 | |
| Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629 |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Michael Duffy |
| Judge of the United States Court of Military Appeals | |
| In office February 18, 1976 – September 20, 1979 | |
| Appointed by | Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Robert E. Quinn |
| Succeeded by | Robinson Everett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Matthew James Perry Jr. August 3, 1921 Columbia, South Carolina |
| Died | July 29, 2011 (aged 89) Columbia, South Carolina |
| Education | South Carolina State University (BS) South Carolina State University School of Law (LLB) |
Matthew James Perry Jr. (August 3, 1921 – July 29, 2011) was an attorney and in 1979 appointed as the first African-American United States district judge in South Carolina, serving on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. In 1976, he had been the first African-American attorney from the Deep South to be appointed to the federal judiciary when he served on the United States Court of Military Appeals. Perry established his career with civil rights litigation, defending Gloria Blackwell in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in her 1962 suit against her arrest for sitting in the whites-only area of the regional hospital while waiting for emergency treatment for her daughter. Other landmark cases included achieving the integration of Clemson University and reapportionment of the state legislature.