Sterling Johnson Jr. (May 14, 1934 – October 10, 2022) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Before his appointment to the bench in 1991, Johnson was an attorney for 25 years, specializing in drug enforcement and the prosecution of narcotics cases. As Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, he supervised assistant district attorneys and investigators responsible for the preparation and prosecution of more than 7,000 criminal cases. He has been a guest lecturer at many American universities and law schools, as well as in various countries.
Sterling Johnson Jr.
New York Eastern District Court
Born 1934 in Brooklyn, NY
Died 2022 in Queens, NY
FJC ID: 1185
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 2/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 5/year
New York Eastern District Court · 1991–2022
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- African American
Prior employment
Commissioner · 1999–2002- New York CitySpecial narcotics prosecutor · 1975–1991
- U.S. Drug Enforcement AdministrationExecutive liaison officer · 1974–1975
- Civilian Complaint Review Board, New York City Police DepartmentExecutive director · 1970–1974
Assistant U.S. attorney · 1967–1970- New York CityPolice officer · 1956–1967
U.S. Marine Corps1952–1955
Appointments
1991–2022 · Appointed by George H.W. Bush (Republican)Term ended: Death
Education
LL.B. · 1966- Brooklyn College, City University of New YorkB.A. · 1963