The author was a United States District Judge for 24 years. After retiring he taught law at National Taiwan University in Taipei. He received a BS from Richmond College and a JD from Wake Forest University. In his early career he served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, an Assistant United States Attorney, a United States Magistrate, and a lawyer in a private practice devoted primarily to federal litigation. In 1990 President George H. W. Bush appointed him to the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. The United States Senate unanimously confirmed him in May of that year