US District Judge Richard Gergel

November 25, 2014 – Our speaker was US District Judge Richard Gergel.  He serves on the District Court for the District of SC.  Judge Gergel was born in Columbia SC and earned an undergraduate degree from Duke in 1975 and then graduated from Duke School of Law in 1979.  He was president and partner of his own law firm in Columbia from 1983 until his nomination to the district court in 2009 by President Obama.  Judge Gergel successfully represented public school teacher Maggi Hall in a First Amendment Rights case in 1994.  The case went to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal in Richmond VA and was considered one of the most important First Amendment cases to come down from the 4th Circuit in over a decade.  The case upheld the lower court’s decision that the school district acted illegally in firing Hall for exercising free speech in criticizing her superintendent and school board for reckless spending. Continue reading “US District Judge Richard Gergel”