BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Sam C. Pointer Jr., the retired U.S. District judge who received death threats because of his rulings forcing school integration in Birmingham during nearly 30 years on the bench, died Saturday. He was 73.
Pointer died at a hospital after suffering from an illness, said his wife, Paula. He had retired from the court about eight years ago and joined the Birmingham law firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White.
Pointer issued controversial decisions as Birmingham struggled to desegregate its school systems in the 1970s. He ordered the busing of children to achieve integration in the Jefferson County schools.
President Nixon named Pointer in 1970 to the bench for the Northern District of Alabama, the state's largest federal court district. He served as chief judge of the district from January 1982 until November 1999.