Gregory M. Sleet

Gregory Moneta Sleet (born March 8, 1951 in New York City, New York) is a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

Gregory Moneta Sleet
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware
In office May 1, 2017 – September 28, 2018
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware
In office 2007–2014
Preceded by	Sue Lewis Robinson
Succeeded by	Leonard P. Stark
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware
In office April 30, 1998 – May 1, 2017
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Joseph J. Longobardi
Succeeded by	Maryellen Noreika
Personal details
Born	Gregory Moneta Sleet March 8, 1951 New York City, New York
Education	Hampton University (B.A.) Rutgers School of Law–Camden (J.D.)

Education and career

Sleet was born in New York City, New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampton University in 1973. He received a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law–Camden in 1976, where he was an Earl Warren Scholar. He was an assistant public defender, Defender Association of Philadelphia from 1976 to 1983. He was in private practice of law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1983 to 1990. He was a deputy attorney general of Department of Justice, State of Delaware from 1990 to 1992. He was a Counsel, Hercules Inc. from 1992 to 1994. He was the United States Attorney for the District of Delaware from 1994 to 1998. He was the first African American to be appointed United States Attorney in Delaware, and the first to be appointed the federal bench in Delaware.[1]

Federal judicial service

Sleet is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. At the recommendation of then Delaware United States Senator Joe Biden, Sleet was nominated by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1998, to a seat vacated by Joseph J. Longobardi. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 27, 1998, and received commission on April 30, 1998. He served as chief judge, from 2007 to 2014. He took senior status on May 1, 2017.[2] In February 2018, Sleet announced his plan to take retirement in fall 2018.[3] He retired from active service on September 28, 2018.

Experience and academic career

Due to the expertise and experience in patent law that Judge Sleet has acquired from hearing numerous patent cases during his tenure as a District Judge and Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, he also teaches courses in Patent Litigation at Duke University School of Law,[4] Widener University School of Law and Rutgers University School of Law.[2]

Other service and honors

In 1995, Sleet was appointed by then U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno for a 2-year term to the Attorney General's Advisory Committee ("AGAC"), a group designed to set policy and strategy for the United States Department of Justice, and also a group which Sleet was made Vice Chair of in 1995-1995 by Reno in August 1995.[2] In 1998, Delaware Today magazine selected Judge Sleet as "Delawarean of the Year" and in 2000, he was named one of "Fifty of the Finest" graduates in the first fifty years of Rutgers University.[2]

Additionally, Judge Sleet was presented the Distinguished Service Award in 1994 by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Central Delaware Branch.[5] Sleet is also a member of the Third Circuit Committee on Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions, the Third Circuit Judicial Council Automation & Technology Committee, the Third Circuit Judicial Council Facilities and Security Committee and Member of the Third Circuit Judicial Council Case Management Committee.

Personal

He is the son of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Moneta Sleet Jr.[1]

References

1. "Gregory Sleet becomes first Black chief judge in Delaware". Jet.
2. "Sleet, Gregory Moneta - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
3. "Sleet Announces Plan to Retire From Del. Federal Bench This Fall | Delaware Law Weekly". Delaware Law Weekly. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
4. Patent Litigation, Duke University School of Law, https://law.duke.edu/academics/course/683/
5. The History Makers, The Honorable Gregory Sleet, http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/honorable-gregory-sleet

External links

• Adjunct Professor Profile - Rutgers University School of Law
• Gregory M. Sleet at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.