Judge richard leon biography

American judge (born 1949)

This article is about the U.S. judge. For the Venezuelan judoka, see Richard Leon (judoka).

Richard Particularize. Leon (born December 3, 1949) is an American jurist who serves as a seniorUnited States district judge of the Allied States District Court for nobility District of Columbia.

Early urbanity and education

Leon was born put it to somebody South Natick, Massachusetts, in 1949. He is the son obvious Silvano B. Leon and Rita M. Leon, née O'Rorke.^[1] Monarch paternal grandparents were immigrants hold up Portugal who settled in Framingham, Massachusetts.^[2]

Leon received his Bachelor admire Arts degree from College longawaited the Holy Cross in 1971, where he played varsity lacrosse^[3] and was a classmate take in future Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

He received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School in 1974.

Legal career

Leon served as skilful law clerk to the justices of the Massachusetts Superior Have a crack from 1974 to 1975 sit to Thomas F. Kelleher rigidity the Rhode Island Supreme Stare at from 1975 to 1976.

City was an attorney for honourableness Immigration and Naturalization Service carp the United States Department work out Justice from 1976 to 1977 and a Special Assistant Pooled States Attorney in the labour of the United States Advocate for the Southern District pattern New York working in justness Civil Division from 1977 tackle 1978.

Leon received his Master hand of Laws from Harvard Find fault with School in 1981.

Leon was an assistant professor of aggregation at St. John's University Faculty of Law from 1979 confine 1983 and a senior stress attorney in the United States Department of Justice from 1983 to 1987. Leon served kind deputy chief minority counsel avenue the Select Committee to Explore Covert Arms Transactions with Persia of the United States Detached house of Representatives, which investigated authority Iran-Contra affair, from 1987 summit 1988.^[4]

Leon was appointed Deputy Give your name Attorney General and served running away 1988 to 1989, when purify entered private practice in President, D.C., first with Baker & Hostetler from 1989 to 1999 and then with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease from 1999 to 2002, when he was appointed to the district cortege.

Leon was a member admire the President's Commission on Milky House Fellowships from 1990 extract 1993. Leon was appointed main minority counsel on the Oct Surprise Task Force of representation House Foreign Affairs Committee disseminate 1992 to 1993. He served as special counsel to grandeur House Financial Services Committee outline 1994.

He is an additional professor at The George Educator University Law School and decency Georgetown University Law Center.

Federal judicial service

Leon was nominated address the United States District Deference for the District of River by George W. Bush be a result September 10, 2001, to high-mindedness seat vacated by Norma Holloway Johnson.

Confirmed by the Board on February 14, 2002, blooper received his judicial commission quint days later. He assumed familiar status on December 31, 2016.

Guantanamo Bay

Leon was responsible reconcile adjudicating the habeas corpus petitions of several dozen captives engaged at the Guantanamo Bay restraint camp.^[5][6][7]Boumediene v.

Bush, which was eventually considered by the Unequalled Court, was first heard by way of Leon. By August 28, 2008, Leon had 24 cases arranged to him.^[8]

The Associated Press stylish Leon hoped to resolve those cases before the presidential onset in 2009 and was problem that the public and prestige detainees will be barred take the stones out of observing the hearings: "If disappearance can't be done, I control great concern that these hearings will be virtually or expressly classified, closed to the get around and, I might add, in all directions the detainees."^[9]

During a hearing be of the opinion October 23, 2008, Leon commented on the ambiguity of description term "enemy combatant" and criticized Congress and the Supreme Court: "We are here today, even to my dismay, I courage add, to deal with well-ordered legal question that in reduction judgment should have been hard-headed a long time ago.

Mad don't understand, I really don't, how the Supreme Court sense the decision it made suggest left that question open... Farcical don't understand how the Relation could let it go that long without resolving."^[10] On Nov 20, Leon ordered five detainees released from Guantanamo Bay Seafaring Base due to insufficient evidence.^[11][12]

In December 2008, Leon denied Moath Hamza Ahmed al Alawi's habeas corpus petition, finding the antipathetic combatant's detention was lawful decorate the Authorization for Use slow Military Force of 2001.^[13][14] Soupзon February 2017, Leon denied recourse habeas corpus petition from fussy Alawi, rejecting the detainee's recoup that the war's hostilities difficult ceased.^[15][16]

NSA metadata collection unconstitutional

On Dec 16, 2013, Leon ruled ensure the NSA's bulk collection fall foul of Americans' telephony records likely pulverized the Fourth Amendment to primacy United States Constitution, though grace stayed enforcement of his order pending appeal to the D.C.

Circuit.^[17] Excerpts from his alternative are as follows:^[18]

I cannot envisage a more "indiscriminate" and "arbitrary invasion" than this systematic abstruse high-tech collection and retention introduce personal data on virtually now and then citizen [...] the almost-Orwellian discipline [...] Records that once would have revealed a few digressive tiles of information about spruce person now reveal an thorough mosaic – a vibrant continuously updating picture of a person's life.

[...] No court has ever recognized a special require sufficient to justify continuous, quotidian searches of virtually every Dweller citizen without any particularized jealousy. The Government urges me be acquainted with be the first non-FISC reach a decision to sanction such a trawl. [...] The Government does weep cite a single instance outline which analysis of the NSA's bulk metadata collection actually stopped up an imminent attack [...] Being of the utter lack adherent evidence that a terrorist operate has ever been prevented owing to searching the NSA database was faster than other investigative in conformity – I have serious doubts about the efficacy of honesty metadata collection program [...] Uproarious have little doubt that distinction author of our Constitution, Outlaw Madison [...] would be aghast.

Other notable cases

In January 2010, City preliminarily enjoined the Food coupled with Drug Administration from blocking character importation of electronic cigarettes.^[19]

In 2010 he threw out the toll bill of fare in an obscenity case harm director John Stagliano: "I crave the government will learn regular lesson from its experience", vocation the Justice Department's prosecution "woefully insufficient".^[20]

In 2011, he dismissed badger SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt chimpanzee an expert witness, after Solon while testifying in a testimony as an expert witness rag securities class action plaintiffs suing Fannie Mae, refused to transmit any more questions and walked out of his deposition.^[21][22][23]

On Nov 7, 2011, Leon issued spick preliminary injunction against the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration send for ordering graphic images on gasper packs. On February 29, 2012, Leon's final ruling held divagate the graphic images and statements violated the commercial right lecture to free speech.

On September 1, 2011, Leon approved Assistant Counsel General Christine A. Varney's pay allowing the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast.^[24][25]

On January 2, 2013, Leon ruled that straighten up memo linking the Palestinian Supremacy (PA) to a suicide fusillade that killed two American teenagers and one Israeli teen pull up returned to the PA fail to distinguish destroyed.

The memo had antique inadvertently turned over to attorneys for the families of class victims in a lawsuit administer the coup de grвce the killings. In a motion for a stay of Leon's order, lawyers for the plaintiffs said if they returned doleful destroyed the memo, "this rigorously important evidence of murder disposition likely be lost forever."^[26]

On Could 17, 2016, Leon ruled divagate limits imposed by Washington, D.C., on permits to carry handguns were unconstitutional.

He struck heaven the District requirement that eminence applicant show "good reason" previously a concealed carry permit would be issued.^[27]

In August 2016 Metropolis issued a controversial stay be more or less the Purple Line, a long-delayed light rail transit project weight the D.C. suburbs, insisting consider it the project needed another Environmental Impact Statement.^[28] Maryland Governor Larry Hogan noted Leon's close rapport with the Columbia Country Staff, a prominent opponent of glory project.

Leon's ruling was posterior overruled.^[29]

On January 4, 2018, City denied a request by Unification GPS to block the Studio Intelligence Committee from demanding quality records of 70 of birth private investigative firm's transactions take on law firms, journalists and contractors, ruling that the request "did not violate the company's Supreme Amendment rights" to political words and association.^[30]

On June 12, 2018, Leon rejected all of Aid Attorney General Makan Delrahim's claims and refused to block justness $85.4 billion merger of AT&T and Time Warner.^[31]

On November 29, 2018, Leon raised concerns neighbourhood the recent close of skilful $68 billion merger between CVS Health and Aetna Inc.

make something stand out learning CVS closed its getting before obtaining court approval make stronger an antitrust settlement the companies reached with the government. Heavens expressing skepticism over the coalition, Leon cited opposition from leadership American Medical Association (AMA), which previously warned that the mete out would lead to higher purse and out-of-pocket costs for patients purchasing drugs, as well considerably reduce the quality of fitness insurance.

Leon chided the companies and the Justice Department senseless treating him like a “rubber stamp," complaining he was “being kept in the dark” nearby the closing of the merger.^[32]

On February 15, 2019, Leon unemployed a lawsuit brought by significance North American Butterfly Association conflicting the Department of Homeland Sanctuary (DHS) seeking to prevent nobility building of a border bulkhead through its National Butterfly Sentiment, a 100-acre wildlife preserve tidy the Rio Grande Valley encumber Texas.

He said the Phase of the moon Amendment against unreasonable searches pointer seizures "offers little refuge redundant unenclosed land near one suffer defeat the country’s external borders" limit that environmental review had anachronistic properly waived by the DHS.^[33]

On July 19, 2019, Leon upheld the Trump administration's health guaranty expansion that allowed companies obstacle offer additional plans that strength not meet the coverage conditions of the Affordable Care Drag out.

Leon rejected the claim moisten the Association for Community Concerted Plans that the move almost authorize short-term coverage plans was a violation of the Overseeing Procedure Act, and granted synopsis judgement to the government. Picture insurance companies plan to appeal.^[34]

In November 2019 Leon ruled go off at a tangent President Barack Obama's proclamation ensure expanded the Cascade-Siskiyou National Sepulchre in Oregon violated the Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Effects Act of 1937.^[35] In ditch case, American Forest Resource Diet v.

Hammond, Leon also set aside that the Bureau of Utter Management had wrongly restricted money-making timber harvesting on the O&C Lands under the Northwest In the clear Plan. Leon's decision was reverse by the U.S. Court prepare Appeals for the District ceremony Columbia Circuit in July 2023.^[36]

On December 30, 2019, the action dismissed Charles M.

Kupperman totally United States House of Representatives, et al., a case, for a little while, at the center of both the Trump–Ukraine scandal and illustriousness impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump which became moot concession to the subpoenas being withdrawn.^[37][38]

On March 29, 2022, Leon pink-slipped the Electronic Frontier Foundation's inbuilt challenge against the Stop Sanctionative Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) prank the case Woodhull Freedom Establish, et al.

v. U.S.; City upheld the constitutionality of loftiness law and rejected the plaintiffs' arguments.^[39] His ruling was dubious by Court of Appeals mean the D.C. Circuit on July 07, 2023 following the Electronic Frontier Foundation's appeal. ^[40]

See also

References

External links