Born November 23, 1914, in Washington, D.C., Atkins received a Bachelor of Laws in 1936 from the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.

[1] Atkins was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 28, 1966, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, to a new seat authorized by 80 Stat.

His service terminated on March 11, 1999, due to his death in Miami.

[3] Atkins ruled that Ginsberg should be given another reading, free of charge.

[citation needed] Among the many important cases in a long and distinguished career, Atkins issued landmark rulings protecting the constitutional rights of homeless people in Pottinger v. City of Miami, as well as major rulings in other cases involving the rights of Haitian and Cuban refugees.