Longtime federal judge ruled on school desegregation cases

Retired U.S. District Judge Sam C. Pointer Jr., who served nearly 30 years on the court and endured death threats for his school integration rulings in Birmingham, Ala., has died. He was 73.

Pointer, who died Saturday of an unspecified illness at a Birmingham hospital, also presided over other complex litigation, including thousands of silicone-gel breast implant cases in the 1990s.

He had retired from the court about eight years ago and joined the Birmingham law firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White.

“The legal community revered Judge Pointer for both his brilliance and his wonderful temperament,” said Chief U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn. “Judge Pointer’s legacy of service to this court and to the nation may one day be equaled, but never surpassed.”

Appointed by President Nixon, Pointer issued controversial decisions as Birmingham struggled to deal with school desegregation in the 1970s. He ordered the busing of children to achieve integration in the Jefferson County schools.

During the school cases, he received death threats, prompting round-the-clock protection by U.S. marshals, even at a church service.

Pointer also was lauded for his work in the classroom, where he taught legal education courses to federal judges across the country.

Sam Clyde Pointer Jr. was born Nov. 15, 1934, in Birmingham. He received a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in 1955, a law degree from the University of Alabama in 1957 and a master’s degree in taxation from New York University in 1958.

Returning to Birmingham, he joined his father, Sam C. Pointer, in a small practice until 1970, when he was appointed to the bench for the Northern District of Alabama, the state’s largest federal court district. He served as chief judge from January 1982 until November 1999.

In addition to his wife, Paula, he is survived by a son and a daughter.