Acker was born in Birmingham, Alabama and served in the United States Army as a private first class from 1946 to 1947.

[1] Acker was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 22, 1982, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Frank Hampton McFadden.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 18, 1982, and received his commission the same day.

He took inactive senior status on September 30, 2016, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he did not hear cases or participate in the business of the court.

[3] In 2008, Acker held the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act unconstitutional in order to impose disproportionate punitive damages ($65,000) on two women defendants who caused no harm (were whistle-blowers exposing insurance fraud), yet Acker did not fine the men found guilty of the insurance fraud.