Thelton Henderson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thelton Henderson
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Incumbent
Assumed office November 28, 1998
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
In office 1990–1997
Preceded by	William Austin Ingram
Succeeded by	Marilyn Hall Patel
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
In office June 30, 1980 – November 28, 1998
Appointed by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Cecil F. Poole
Succeeded by	William Alsup
Personal details
Born	Thelton Eugene Henderson (1933-11-28) November 28, 1933 (age 91) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA, JD)

Thelton Eugene Henderson (born November 28, 1933) is a respected American judge. He worked as a lawyer, teacher, and judge. He is known for his important work in civil rights, which means making sure everyone has fair and equal treatment. He served as a United States federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Early Life and Education

Thelton Henderson was born on November 28, 1933, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1956. After serving in the United States Army as a Corporal from 1956 to 1958, he returned to Berkeley. He then earned his law degree (Juris Doctor) from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1962. While at Berkeley, he was part of a study group called the Afro-American Association.

Career as a Lawyer and Educator

Thelton Henderson made history as the first African-American attorney for the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. He held this role from 1962 to 1963. After that, he worked as a private lawyer in Oakland, California, from 1964 to 1966.

He also directed the East Bayshore Neighborhood Legal Center in East Palo Alto, California, from 1966 to 1969. Later, he became an assistant dean at Stanford Law School, serving from 1968 to 1977. Before becoming a judge, he also taught as an associate professor at the Golden Gate University School of Law from 1978 to 1980.

Working for Civil Rights

As a young lawyer, Henderson was sent to the Southern United States. His job was to watch local police and make sure they were not violating anyone's civil rights. This included investigating the terrible 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, where four young girls were killed. During this time, he met Martin Luther King Jr. and other important leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. He earned their trust, even though he worked for the government.

Federal Judicial Service

President Jimmy Carter chose Thelton Henderson to be a federal judge on May 9, 1980. He was approved by the United States Senate on June 26, 1980. He officially became a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on June 30, 1980.

He served as the Chief Judge of this court from 1990 to 1997. On November 28, 1998, he took on senior status. This means he continued to be a judge but handled fewer cases. Since August 11, 2017, he has been on inactive senior status. This means he is still a federal judge but no longer hears cases or participates in court business.

Important Cases and Decisions

Judge Henderson presided over many important cases during his time on the bench. Many of these cases focused on protecting people's rights and the environment.

Protecting Dolphins

In the late 1980s, Judge Henderson oversaw a long-running case about the fishing industry. This case involved how tuna fishing nets sometimes caught and harmed dolphins. Environmental groups argued that millions of dolphins were drowning because fishing companies were not following safety rules. Judge Henderson rejected attempts by the government to make these rules less strict. He also worked to keep the "dolphin safe label" on tuna meaningful.

Prison Reform

In 1995, Judge Henderson made a landmark decision in a civil rights case called Madrid v. Gomez. He found that the way force was used and the medical care at Pelican Bay State Prison were against the Constitution. He even visited the prison himself during the process of making sure things improved.

In 2005, he ruled that the medical care in California's prison system was so poor that it violated prisoners' rights. The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects people from cruel and unusual punishment. He found that the bad medical care had led to unnecessary deaths in California prisons. In 2006, he appointed Robert Sillen to take over and fix the health care system for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Affirmative Action

In 1997, Judge Henderson ruled against Proposition 209. This was a California law that aimed to end affirmative action programs. Affirmative action programs try to help groups that have faced discrimination. However, his decision was later overturned by a higher court in 1998.

Honors and Recognition

Thelton Henderson has received many awards for his dedication to justice. These include the American Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award. He also received the Bernard Witkin Medal from the State Bar of California. The Anti-Defamation League gave him the Pearlstein Civil Rights Award.

Other honors include the Distinguished Service Award from the National Bar Association. He also received the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics. The American Jewish Committee honored him with the Judge Learned Hand Award. In 2008, he was named Alumnus of the Year by the California Alumni Association at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley School of Law) is named after him. A documentary about his life, called Soul of Justice, was released in 2005. In 2024, he was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In July 2025, the University of California, Berkeley announced a new $6 million gift. This gift will create the Thelton E. Henderson ’62 Chair in Civil Rights Law.

See also

• List of African-American federal judges
• List of African-American jurists
• List of United States federal judges by longevity of service