O. Rogeriee Thompson President Barack Obama has nominated Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Thompson was born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina. She earned her A.B. from Brown University in 1973, and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1976.

She began her legal career as a staff attorney at Rhode Island Legal Services as a Reginald Haber Smith Fellow. She was ultimately promoted to Senior Staff Attorney and Family Law Unit Manager, where she served as chief litigation counsel for all major domestic and juvenile trials.

After three years at Legal Services, Judge Thompson entered private practice, working at a small firm and then as a solo practitioner before forming a partnership with her sister at the firm of Thompson & Thompson. In 1988, Judge Thompson became the first African-American woman to be nominated to the Rhode Island District Court where she presided over state law criminal misdemeanors, civil actions with damages up to $10,000, and tax appeals.

In 1997, she was elevated to the Rhode Island Superior Court, where she currently serves. She was the first African-American woman on that court. As an Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court, Judge Thompson has original jurisdiction over all felony cases and civil actions, including those sounding in equity.

Judge Thompson is active in a wide variety of community and educational organizations. She is a Trustee of Brown University and of Bryant College.