Famous federal jurist and member of the St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees Thomas Penfield Jackson died Saturday at his home in Compton. Jackson was a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. During his 22 year-tenure he ruled that Microsoft was a monopoly and ordered its break up (which was subsequently overturned). He also president over DC Mayor Marion Barry’s trial on cocaine possession and ordered him to serve six months in jail. Jackson was 76.
Jackson was a lawyer on the 1972 reelection campaign of President Richard Nixon. Other high profile cases involved requiring Sen. Robert Packwood of Oregon to turn over his personal diary in an ethics probe. Packwood later resigned.
According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia: “Jackson was born in Washington, DC. He graduated from Dartmouth College with an A.B. in the class of 1958, and from Harvard Law School with a LL.B. in 1964. He served in the United States Navy from 1958 to 1961. He was appointed to the Court in 1982 after serving as president of the District of Columbia Bar Association, filling the seat vacated by Oliver Gasch. He assumed senior status in 2002 and retired in 2004. He is currently an attorney with the Jackson and Campbell, P.C., law firm.”
Jackson was a member of the St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees since 2001.
He and his wife Patricia had homes in Compton and Washington, DC. He is survived by two daughters from a previous marriage. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced
