Ana C. Reyes | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
Assumed office February 21, 2023 | |
Appointed by | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Colleen Kollar-Kotelly |
Personal details | |
Born | Ana Cecilia Reyes 1974 (age 49–50) Montevideo,Uruguay |
Education | |
Ana Cecilia Reyes (born 1974) is an Uruguayan-born American lawyer who has served as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since 2023. She was nominated to the position by President Joe Biden; and is both the first Latina and the first openly LGBT person to serve as a district court judge in Washington, D.C. [1]
Reyes was born in 1974 in Montevideo, Uruguay. [2] She moved to Spain soon thereafter, and would immigrate to Louisville, Kentucky, as a child. [3] [4] After her arrival in the United States, her first-grade teacher helped her learn English. She received media attention in 2020 for reuniting with her first-grade teacher after over fory years. [3]
Reyes graduated from Transylvania University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude . From 1996 to 1997, Reyes worked for Feminist Majority Foundation on its unsuccessful drive to defeat the 1996 California Proposition 209, which sought to prohibit state governmental institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, specifically in the areas of public employment, public contracting, and public education. [5] [6]
Reyes then attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and a semi-finalist in the Ames Moot Court Competition. [2] She graduated in 2000 with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude. [7]
Reyes later received a master's in international public policy from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, with honors, in 2014. [4] [8]
After law school, Reyes served as a law clerk for Judge Amalya Kearse of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2000 to 2001. She then entered private practice at the law firm Williams & Connolly, becoming a partner in 2009. [4] [8] Reyes focused on cross-border legal issues and international arbitration, while also taking on pro bono work to represent asylum seekers and refugee organizations. [9]
The Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia named her "Woman Lawyer of the Year" in 2017. [3] In September 2021, Chief Judge Beryl Howell asked Reyes to serve as the Chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel. [10]
In 2008, on behalf of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, Reyes filed a brief in support of three Guinean women seeking asylum in the U.S. [11]
In 2018, Reyes was part of the legal team challenging the Trump administration's restrictions on refugees entering the United States through ports of entry. [12]
In 2021, Reyes represented Spain in a dispute over the company's decision to withdraw economic incentives for renewable projects. [13]
In 2021, Reyes represented pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. in a suit alleging that diabetes drugs manufactured by the company cause pancreatic cancer. [14]
In 2022, Reyes represented a Medtronic subsidiary in a court case by patients alleging they were injured by the company's hernia mesh products. [15]
On April 27, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Reyes to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She had been recommended for the position by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. [1]
On May 19, 2022, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Reyes to the seat being vacated by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who announced her intent to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. [16] A hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 22, 2022. [17] On August 4, 2022, her nomination reported out of committee by a 11–9–2 vote. [18] On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate; she was renominated later the same day. [19] On February 2, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 vote. [20] On February 15, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–47 vote. [21] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 51–47 vote. [22] She received her judicial commission on February 21, 2023. [7]
Reyes was sworn in on February 22, 2023. [23] She became the first Hispanic woman and openly LGBTQ person to serve as a district court judge in Washington, D.C. [24] [25] [4]
Reyes criticized the Department of Justice in the House Select Committee on April 5, 2024, for refusing to allow attorneys involved in the Hunter Biden investigation to comply with subpoenas issued by House Republicans. She accused the Department of Justice of hypocrisy in prosecuting Trump administration official Peter Navarro, noting that he had been imprisoned for not complying with House committee subpoenas. [26] [27]
In January 2024, Reyes sentenced Charles Littlejohn, who leaked the tax returns of Donald Trump along with several other wealthy taxpayers to the media, to five years in prison. Reyes denounced Littlejohn's decision to leak Trump's tax returns as a "an attack on our constitutional democracy", stating:
"When you target the sitting president of the United States, you’re targeting the office and when you’re targeting the office of the president of the United States, you're targeting democracy — you’re targeting our constitutional system of government."
Reyes added that Trump was under no legal obligation to release his tax returns, compared the whistleblower's actions to the January 6 United States Capitol attack. [28] During the trial, Reyes told Littlejohn that "I have reacted so strongly to your case because it engenders the same fear that Jan. 6 does". Reyes' decision to sentence Littlejohn to five years in prison received attention for being over six times longer than the four-to ten-month sentence recommended United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines. [29]
In 2023, Reyes presided over an antitrust case brought by the DOJ against Assa Abloy's acquisition of Spectrum Brands’ hardware and home improvement (HHI) division. [30] Reyes reportedly favored the lawsuit ending in a settlement rather than a trial. During the trial, Reyes indicated interest in reinterpreting the burden of proof in 'litigate-the fix' merger cases: while the burden is generally on merging companies to prove a deal would not harm competition, Reyes expressed interest for putting the burden of proof on DOJ lawyers. [31]
Reyes is known to bring her pet Golden Retriever, Scout, to work. [32]
Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson is an American lawyer and jurist who is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden on February 25, 2022, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn into office that same year. She is the first black woman and the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court. From 2021 to 2022, Jackson was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Lucy Haeran Koh is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Koh previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021. She also served as a California state court judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2008 to 2010. She is the first Korean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the United States.
Florence Yu Pan is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022 and a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2021.
Claria Denise Horn Boom is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. She is a member of the United States Sentencing Commission.
Maryellen Noreika is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2018 as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
Mary Kay Vyskocil is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and a former United States bankruptcy judge for the same court. President Donald Trump nominated her to the district bench in 2018 and again in 2019, and she was confirmed in 2019.
Jennifer Hutchison Rearden is an American lawyer from New York who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Carolyn Nancy Lerner is an American lawyer who is a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Holly Aiyisha Thomas is an American attorney serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2018 to 2022.
Loren Linn AliKhan is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as a U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since 2023. She previously served as an associate judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 2022 to 2023 as well as the solicitor general of the District of Columbia from 2018 to 2022.
Trina Lynn Thompson is American judge who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She previously served as a state court judge of the Alameda County Superior Court.
Jennifer Louise Rochon is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. From 2013 to 2022, she was General Counsel of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Ana Isabel de Alba is an American attorney who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California from 2022 to 2023.
President Joe Biden began his presidency with fewer vacancies to fill than his predecessor. He pledged to nominate people with diverse backgrounds and professional experience; further he pledged to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Dana Marie Douglas is an American attorney who is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Kai Niambi Scott is an American attorney who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She previously served as a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas from 2015 to 2023.
Julia Eleanor Kobick is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts since 2023. She previously served as deputy state solicitor in the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General.
Rita Faye Lin is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She previously served as an associate judge of the San Francisco County Superior Court.
Charnelle Marie Bjelkengren is an American lawyer who has served as a judge of the Spokane County Superior Court since 2019. She is a former nominee to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Mónica Ramírez Almadani is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California since 2023. She was the president and CEO of Public Counsel, a pro bono law firm, from 2021 to 2023.