Jennifer H. Rearden

Jennifer H. Rearden
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 7, 2022
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byRichard J. Sullivan
Personal details
Born1970 (age 53–54)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
EducationYale University (BA)
New York University (JD)

Jennifer Hutchison Rearden (born 1970)[2] 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

Education

Rearden earned her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Yale University in 1992, and her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 1996.[3]

Rearden practiced at Davis Polk & Wardwell and in the Atlanta office of King & Spalding.

In 2003, she joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in New York City, where she was a partner in the commercial litigation and crisis management practice groups. While working at the firm, she represented Chevron. She has litigated complex commercial cases before United States District Courts and state courts.[3]

Federal judicial service

Expired nomination to district court under Trump

On February 12, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Rearden to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She had been strongly recommended by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and was nominated as part of a bipartisan package of judicial nominees.[4] On May 4, 2020, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Rearden to the seat vacated by Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on October 25, 2018.[5] On January 3, 2021, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[6]

Renomination to district court under Biden

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Rearden to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.[7] She was renominated to the same seat as her previous nomination.[8] Rearden's nomination was criticized by Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who brought up Rearden's controversial role in the prosecution of Steven Donziger. Rearden represented Chevron in its countersuit against Donziger,[9] an environmental lawyer who brought a class action case against Chevron related to environmental damage and health effects caused by oil drilling.[10] On March 2, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[11] On April 4, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 22–0 vote.[12] On September 8, 2022, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination by a voice vote.[13] After the Senate confirmed her nomination, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said that she would have voted "no" if the Senate had conducted a roll call vote on Rearden's nomination.[14] She received her judicial commission on October 7, 2022.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Voruganti, Harsh (2020-05-06). "Jennifer Rearden – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York". The Vetting Room. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  2. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees and United States Marshal Nominee". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-12 – via National Archives.
  4. ^ Fenster, Jordan (February 26, 2020). "Darien woman, Obama contributor, named by Trump to bench in New York". Connecticut Post.
  5. ^ "Thirty Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
  6. ^ "PN1745 - Nomination of Jennifer H. Rearden for The Judiciary, 116th Congress (2019–2020)". www.congress.gov. 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  7. ^ Garrison, Joey. "Biden nominates Muslim woman to the federal bench, a first in US history as he diversifies the judiciary". USA Today.
  8. ^ "President Biden Names Thirteenth Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. January 19, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ "Progressive Groups Are Trying To Sink One Of Biden's Judicial Nominees". HuffPost. March 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Budryk, Zack (2022-01-21). "Tlaib blasts Biden judicial nominee whose firm sued environmental lawyer". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  11. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. February 28, 2022.
  12. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 4, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "PN1687 — Jennifer H. Rearden — The Judiciary". United States Senate. January 19, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "Congressional Record".
  15. ^ Jennifer H. Rearden at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Legal offices
Preceded by United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
2022–present 		Incumbent