John Maxwell Ferren (born July 21, 1937)[3] is a former associate judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
[5] After obtaining bachelor's and law degrees from Harvard University, he took a job in Chicago at Kirkland, Ellis, Hodson, Chaffetz & Masters.
During his seven years leading the department, Ferren represented members of the Black Panther Party against the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and challenged the Nixon administration's attempts to dismantle federal poverty programs.
He acquired a reputation as a liberal judge and was respected even by government lawyers and prosecutors whom he often ruled against.
[2][7] After stepping down in 1999, he rejoined the court as a senior judge and completed work on his book, Salt of the Earth, Conscience of the Court: The Story of Justice Wiley Rutledge, which was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2004 and won several awards.