12 Facts About Lance Africk

Lance Michael Africk was born on December 1,1951 and is a senior United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The New York City-born Africk received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1973, and two years later a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Lance Africk entered the private practice of law in Louisiana from 1976 to 1977, and was thereafter Director of the Career Criminal Bureau for the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office from 1977 to 1980.

Lance Africk returned to private practice until 1982, and then became an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana until 1990.

Lance Africk became a United States magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in 1990.

Lance Africk did not obtain nomination for a judgeship under Clinton.

On January 23,2002, by which time he had returned to Republican registration, Africk was nominated by President George W Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana vacated by Edith Brown Clement.

Lance Africk was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 17,2002, and received his commission the same day.

On March 31,2011, Lance Africk sentenced former New Orleans police officer David Warren to 25 years and 9 months in federal prison on a federal civil rights violation of committing manslaughter with a firearm in the case of the death of Henry Glover.

Lance Africk sentenced another former officer, Greg McRae, to 17 years and 3 months in prison and three years of supervised release on obstruction of justice and another civil rights charge.

In 2016, Lance Africk reduced McRae's sentence to 11 years and nine months, which was within the federal guidelines.

Lance Africk said a long prison sentence was still warranted due to the severity of the crime.