He was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1949 and attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971.

After being honorably discharged from active duty, he was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, serving there from 1978 until 1983.

He also was recommissioned in the United States Army Reserves, serving as a Military Judge from 1981 until 1986.

From 1983 until 1986, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

[3][4] The Supreme Court ruled on the certiorari granted in relation to United States v. Robert McDonnell in 2016.