Speaker Name
Hon. Jerry W. Blackwell
Job Title
U.S. District Judge
Company
U.S. District Court - District of Minnesota
Speaker Bio
Judge Jerry W. Blackwell was appointed as a United States District Court Judge by President Joe Biden and took the oath of office on December 22, 2022. Judge Blackwell previously served as the founding partner at the law firm of Blackwell Burke P.A. in Minneapolis.
Judge Blackwell was formerly a trial attorney with thirty-five years of experience in complex litigation matters around the country. His recognitions include being named Minnesota Attorney of the Year six times, named to Best Lawyers in America for over a decade, he was the recipient of the National Law Journal 2022 “Winning Litigator” of the year recognition, and he received lifetime achievement awards from Benchmark Litigation and the National Bar Association in 2022. He is a founding member of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers (1995).
Judge Blackwell served pro bono as a lead Special Assistant Attorney General in the prosecution of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. Additionally, in 2020, in tandem with the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial Committee of Duluth, he helped pro bono to secure the first posthumous pardon in Minnesota history for Max Mason, a black traveling circus worker wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in 1920. Three of his black circus co-workers were lynched by a mob of 10,000 whites in Duluth for the fabricated rape charge.
Judge Blackwell attended UNC-Chapel Hill for his undergraduate and law school education and is a distinguished alumnus at both institutions. He attended UNC as a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
Judge Blackwell was formerly a trial attorney with thirty-five years of experience in complex litigation matters around the country. His recognitions include being named Minnesota Attorney of the Year six times, named to Best Lawyers in America for over a decade, he was the recipient of the National Law Journal 2022 “Winning Litigator” of the year recognition, and he received lifetime achievement awards from Benchmark Litigation and the National Bar Association in 2022. He is a founding member of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers (1995).
Judge Blackwell served pro bono as a lead Special Assistant Attorney General in the prosecution of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. Additionally, in 2020, in tandem with the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial Committee of Duluth, he helped pro bono to secure the first posthumous pardon in Minnesota history for Max Mason, a black traveling circus worker wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in 1920. Three of his black circus co-workers were lynched by a mob of 10,000 whites in Duluth for the fabricated rape charge.
Judge Blackwell attended UNC-Chapel Hill for his undergraduate and law school education and is a distinguished alumnus at both institutions. He attended UNC as a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
Speaking At
