Calvin Ross

Last updated

Calvin Ross (born January 9th, 1949) is an American former law enforcement officer who served as Chief of Police of the City of Miami from 1991 to 1994, [1] then served as Secretary of Juvenile Justice of Florida, overseeing juvenile justice programs, and finally served as police chief of Florida A&M University from 2001 to 2012. As the maternal uncle of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, elements of his career received attention in connection with their influence on Judge Jackson in the process leading up to her nomination to the United States Supreme Court. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Born in Overtown, Ross grew up in Liberty City, two of the poorest areas in Miami. [3] [4] He graduated from Biscayne College in Miami with a degree in criminal justice. [3]

Career

Ross worked for the Miami police department for 23 years, beginning as a patrolman, and ultimately being named police chief in 1991. [3]

In 1992, Governor Lawton Chiles appointed Ross to a state panel on contraband forfeiture practices. [5] Ross was the only ethnic minority appointed to serve on the panel, which led to a protest from the NAACP. The governor responded by appointing two Hispanic members, but this did not alleviate dissatisfaction with the panel, given the disproportionate number of African-Americans in the juvenile justice system. [6]

In 1994, Governor Chiles named Ross "to lead a new state agency in charge of juvenile justice programs, everything from prevention and boot camps to long-term lockup". [4] The administration noted that in appointing Ross, Governor Chiles "wanted to signal a tougher approach to juvenile crime by selecting a career police officer". [3]

Ross later served for 11 years as police chief at Florida A&M University. [7]

Personal life

Ross married a native Panamanian, with whom he had four children. He is a born-again Christian. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States</span> United States federal judge position

An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawton Chiles</span> American politician (1930–1998)

Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. was an American politician and military officer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Florida from 1971 to 1989 and as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecilia Altonaga</span> American judge (born 1962)

Cecilia María Altonaga is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She is the first Cuban-American woman to be appointed as a federal judge in the United States.

The Alaska Court System is the unified, centrally administered, and totally state-funded judicial system for the state of Alaska. The Alaska District Courts are the primary misdemeanor trial courts, the Alaska Superior Courts are the primary felony trial courts, and the Alaska Supreme Court and the Alaska Court of Appeals are the primary appellate courts. The chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court is the administrative head of the Alaska Court System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Florida</span> Government of a U.S. state

The government of Florida is established and operated according to the Constitution of Florida and is composed of three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers; the legislative branch, the Florida Legislature, consisting of the Senate and House; and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of Florida and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, and ratification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Barkett</span> American judge (born 1939)

Rosemary Barkett is a Mexican-American judge of the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal located in The Hague, Netherlands since 2013. Previously, she served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to her nomination for that post, she was chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Police Department</span> Police department for the City of Miami, Florida

The Miami Police Department (MPD), also known as the City of Miami Police Department, is a full-service municipal law enforcement agency serving Miami, Florida, United States. MPD is the largest municipal police department in Florida. MPD officers are distinguishable from their Miami-Dade Police Department counterparts by their blue uniforms and blue-and-white patrol vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Beary</span> American sheriff

Kevin Beary was Sheriff from 1993 to 2009 of Orange County, Florida, United States, heading the Orange County Sheriff's Office, one of the largest law enforcement bodies in the Southeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Tennessee</span>

The Government of Tennessee is organized under the provisions of the 1870 Constitution of Tennessee, first adopted in 1796. As set forth by the state constitution, administrative influence in Tennessee is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Department of Law Enforcement</span> Florida government agency

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities, and procedures are mandated through Chapter 943, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 11, Florida Administrative Code. FDLE is headed by a commissioner who reports to the Florida Cabinet, which is composed of the governor, the attorney general, the chief financial officer, and the commissioner of agriculture. The commissioner is appointed to his position by the governor and cabinet and confirmed by the Florida Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketanji Brown Jackson</span> US Supreme Court justice since 2022 (born 1970)

Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson is an American lawyer and jurist who is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden on February 25, 2022, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn into office that same year. She is the first black woman and the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court. From 2021 to 2022, Jackson was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Michelle Childs</span> American federal judge (born 1966)

Julianna Michelle Childs is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was previously a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina from 2010 to 2022 and a judge of the South Carolina Circuit Court from 2006 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Municipal Court</span> Trial court in Massachusetts, United States

The Boston Municipal Court (BMC), officially the Boston Municipal Court Department of the Trial Court, is a department of the Trial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The court hears criminal, civil, mental health, restraining orders, and other types of cases. The court also has an appellate division which reviews questions of law that arise from civil matters filed in the eight divisions of the department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Tony</span> American sheriff (born 1978)

Gregory Scott Tony is an American law enforcement officer and serving since 2019 as the 17th Sheriff of Broward County, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Israel</span> American law enforcement officer

Scott Israel is an American law enforcement officer in Florida, and the former Broward County Sheriff.

Natalie Aleta Jackson is an American trial attorney from Orlando, Florida. She is also known as an author and human rights activist. Her involvement in the Trayvon Martin case and her use of the #TrayvonMartin Twitter hashtag has led to her being connected to the formation of that movement. She is frequently invited to speak on the Black Lives Matter movement. She is best known for her work on the Trayvon Martin case, though she has been mentioned in the media regarding a number of other high-profile cases. Jackson is a frequent commenter on ongoing cases for news publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates</span> Persons nominated or considered for nomination

With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his victory in the 2020 presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden took office as president on January 20, 2021. During the 2020 Democratic primary campaign, Biden pledged to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court, although unlike his opponent, Donald Trump, Biden did not release a specific list of potential nominees during the 2020 general election campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination</span> United States Supreme Court nomination

On February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the position of associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to fill the vacancy by Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement on January 27, 2022, at the age of 83. Jackson, a former law clerk of Breyer, was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, having been appointed by Biden in 2021. Jackson is the first Black woman in U.S. history to be nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission(CJSTC), established in 1967 under Florida Statutes, Chapter 943, is a Florida state commission. The Commission's mission is "To ensure that all citizens of Florida are served by criminal justice officers who are ethical, qualified, and well-trained." It is part of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

References

  1. "List of Miami police chiefs since 1921". WPLG. December 15, 2014.
  2. Mazzei, Patricia; Savage, Charlie (January 30, 2022). "For Ketanji Brown Jackson, View of Criminal Justice Was Shaped by Family". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Barstow, David (July 8, 1994). "Juvenile Justice chief credits dad's tough love". Tampa Bay Times .
  4. 1 2 Hirth, Diane; San Martin, Nancy (July 7, 1994). "Miami Police Chief". Sun Sentinel.
  5. "Governor read Sentinel report, appointed panel", The Orlando Sentinel (August 24, 1992), p. 5.
  6. Bob Vogel, Fighting to Win (Turner, 2001), p. 152, ISBN   1563116278.
  7. Beatty, Robert (April 4, 2012). "Florida A&M police chief Calvin Ross retires".