Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson

Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson (born 1951) is a senior United States circuit judge on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010, she served as an active circuit judge until assuming senior status in September 2022 and continues to hear cases. Prior to her federal appointment, Judge Thompson held positions on the Rhode Island District Court and the Rhode Island Superior Court, gaining extensive experience in both public service and private practice.

Early life and legal career

Thompson was born in Anderson, South Carolina, at a time when the community remained segregated, and she spent her childhood in nearby Greenville. Through the Student Transfer and Exchange Program (STEP), she attended Scarsdale High School in New York, graduating in 1969. She then moved to Rhode Island to pursue higher education at Pembroke College, the coordinate women’s college of Brown University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973. Continuing her academic path, Thompson obtained a Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law in 1976.

While completing her undergraduate studies, Thompson worked as a cashier at the Providence Civic Center in 1973, an early employment experience that preceded her legal career. In 1975 she served as a law clerk for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, gaining exposure to clinical legal work. Her involvement with Rhode Island Legal Services began in 1974 as a legal intern; after completing law school, she returned to the organization as Senior Staff Attorney and Family Law Manager, positions she held from 1976 until 1979. These roles placed her at the forefront of providing legal assistance to low‑income clients and overseeing family law matters.

Transitioning to private practice, Thompson was an associate with the firm McKinnon & Fortunato from 1979 to 1980. She then entered municipal service as Assistant City Solicitor for Providence, a post she occupied until 1982. Concurrently, in 1980 she began practicing law independently, and by 1984 she had established her own firm in South Providence while raising a family with her husband, William Clifton, who later served as a Rhode Island District Court judge.

Thompson’s judicial career commenced when Governor Edward D. DiPrete appointed her to the Rhode Island District Court in 1988. After nearly a decade on that bench, Governor Lincoln Almond elevated her to the Rhode Island Superior Court in 1997. During her tenure on the state courts, she adjudicated a broad spectrum of civil and criminal matters, further developing the judicial temperament and legal expertise that would later inform her service at the federal appellate level.

Federal appellate service

The vacancy on the First Circuit created by Judge Bruce M. Selya’s transition to senior status prompted United States Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse to recommend Thompson for nomination on April 13, 2009. President Barack Obama formally nominated her on October 6, 2009 to fill the seat identified as CA10602. The Senate Judiciary Committee processed her nomination, and the full Senate confirmed her by a unanimous 98‑0 vote on March 17, 2010. She received her commission three weeks later, on March 30, 2010, and entered active service on the First Circuit.

As an active circuit judge from 2010 through 2022, Thompson participated in panels that addressed a wide array of legal issues ranging from constitutional questions to complex criminal appeals. Her contributions included authoring opinions, joining majority rulings, and issuing dissents when she disagreed with her colleagues’ conclusions. On September 21, 2022, Judge Thompson assumed senior status, a form of semi‑retirement that permits her to maintain a reduced caseload while still contributing to the court’s work.

Jurisprudence and legacy

During her time on the First Circuit, Judge Thompson was involved in several high‑profile decisions that illustrate aspects of her judicial approach. In August 2017, she authored a dissenting opinion when the en banc circuit rejected a lawsuit seeking to extend voting rights in federal elections to residents of Puerto Rico. Her dissent underscored a differing view on the constitutional considerations surrounding territorial representation.

In July 2020, Judge Thompson sat on a panel that vacated the death sentence imposed on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the perpetrator of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and overturned three firearm convictions. The panel held that procedural errors in the sentencing phase warranted reversal, though it affirmed the life imprisonment component of the judgment. The United States Supreme Court later reinstated the death penalty in March 2022, but the First Circuit’s decision reflected Judge Thompson’s engagement with complex criminal procedure issues.

Beyond specific cases, Judge Thompson’s career reflects a trajectory that includes pioneering representation for African‑American women within the federal judiciary. While the reference material does not label her as the first to hold any particular position, she is listed among notable African‑American jurists and contributes to the diversity of the appellate bench. Her service on both state and federal courts demonstrates a sustained commitment to public service across multiple jurisdictions.

Judge Thompson resides in Cranston, Rhode Island, where she lives with her family. She is married to William Clifton, a former Rhode Island District Court judge, and together they have three children. Her professional path—from early work as a cashier and legal aid clerk to senior status on a United States Court of Appeals—exemplifies a long-standing dedication to the law and to the administration of justice.