Liam O'Grady | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court | |
In office August 21, 2020 –August 18, 2023 | |
Appointed by | John Roberts |
Preceded by | Michael W. Mosman |
Succeeded by | Carl J. Nichols |
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
In office May 1,2020 –August 18,2023 | |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
In office July 11,2007 –May 1,2020 | |
Appointed by | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Claude M. Hilton |
Succeeded by | Patricia Tolliver Giles |
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
In office 2003–2007 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1950 (age 73–74) Newark,New Jersey,U.S. |
Education | Franklin &Marshall College (BA) George Mason University (JD) |
Liam O'Grady (born 1950) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In 2020,he was appointed as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and as a judge of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. He retired in August 2023.
Born in Newark,New Jersey,O'Grady attended Glen Ridge High School,graduating in 1968. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin &Marshall College in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from George Mason University School of Law in 1977.
O'Grady was in private practice in Virginia from 1992 to 2003. He was an Assistant commonwealth's attorney for the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1982 to 1986. He was an assistant United States attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia from 1986 to 1992.
O'Grady was a United States magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2003 to 2007. On January 9,2007,O'Grady was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Claude M. Hilton. O'Grady was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 9,2007,and received his commission on July 11,2007. He assumed senior status on May 1,2020. In 2021,he was appointed to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court [1] and as a judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. [2] He retired from active service on August 18,2023. [1]
O'Grady was the presiding judge in extradition proceedings against Kim Dotcom relating to the Megaupload file storage service. During April 2012 he stated: "I frankly don't know that we are ever going to have a trial in this matter," when he found that the company had never been formally served with criminal papers by the US. [3]
In April 2022 O’Grady was replaced as a judge in the RIAA and MPA civil cases against Megaupload. [4]
On May 21, 2022 O’Grady was replaced as a judge in both the criminal case against Megaupload due to conflict of interest, O'Grady had a financial stake in Disney. [5]
O'Grady was the presiding judge in the case against Daniel Hale. Hale is a whistleblower who leaked approximately 150 documents to a reporter on U.S. drone operations in the Middle East. The documents detailed how the policy of selecting targets was presumptuous rather than thorough; and the targeting was far from precise. In March 2021 Hale pleaded guilty to one count of providing classified information to a reporter. [6]
During sentencing, defense attorneys argued the government had no evidence showing that actual harm had arisen from the leaks, and the fact should be taken into account. In July 2021 O'Grady sentenced Hale to 45 months in prison. It was the second harshest sentence for a whistleblower (the harshest was Reality Winner's sentence of 5 years in prison for whistleblowing). [6]
Kim Dotcom, also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist who lives in Glenorchy, New Zealand.
David Bryan Sentelle is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He previously was a U.S. district judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina from 1985 to 1987.
George Zvi-Arjie Singal is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine and also serves as a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Megaupload Ltd was a Hong Kong–based online company established in 2005 that operated from 2005 to 2012 providing online services related to file storage and viewing.
Raymond Joseph Dearie is an American lawyer who is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He also served as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 2012 to 2019.
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Claude Meredith Hilton is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and heir to the Hilton hotel chain.
James Parker Jones is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He served as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 2015 to 2022. He served as a judge of the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court from 2016 to 2021.
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Stephen Andrew Higginson is a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Presiding Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.
Rudolph Contreras is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He served as Presiding Judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 2021 to 2023.
Multiple criminal indictments and enforcement actions were taken against Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom in various jurisdictions. On 19 January 2012 the United States Department of Justice seized and shut down the file-hosting site Megaupload.com and commenced criminal cases against its owners and others. On 20 January 2012 Hong Kong Customs froze more than 300 million Hong Kong dollars in assets belonging to the company.
Ira P. Rothken is an American high technology attorney and computer scientist who has handled numerous cases of first impression involving the internet and new technologies.
Amit Priyavadan Mehta is an American lawyer who has served as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since 2014. In 2021, Mehta became a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Daniel Everette Hale is an American whistleblower and former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence analyst who sent classified information about drone warfare to the press. Hale served in the United States Air Force 2009–2013 before joining the National Security Agency and leaking classified documents to The Intercept. In 2021, he pled guilty to retaining and transmitting national defense information and was sentenced to 45 months in prison. He was incarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Marion, Illinois. He was released on July 5, 2024.
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