A startling new report has emerged indicating that one-third of the judges serving on the Washington, D.C. district court were not born in the United States. To add a layer of complexity to this revelation, many of these judges entered the bench without prior judicial experience.
What exactly are we doing here?
This scenario starkly contrasts with the judiciary landscape of the 1980s, a time when all district judges hailed from American soil.
Given that these judges make pivotal decisions on a range of significant issues, is it unreasonable to expect them to be both American citizens and seasoned judicial professionals?
Currently, there are 15 active judges on the D.C. District Court. Among them, five judges were born outside the U.S., with origins tracing back to Jamaica, India, Uruguay, Canada, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Federalist has reported:
A Third Of All DC District Judges Were Not Born In United States
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia, frequently at the center of high-profile cases challenging President Donald Trump’s authority, comprises 15 judges (including Chief Judge James Boasberg), five of whom were born outside the United States…
Since 2014, former President Barack Obama nominated Judge Tanya Sue Chutkan, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She arrived in the U.S. in 1979 to attend George Washington University and, notably, had no prior judicial experience before her federal appointment. She is currently presiding over the legal dispute regarding the Department of Justice’s initiatives to reduce excessive government spending.
Obama also appointed Judge Amit P. Mehta, who similarly had no previous experience as a judge. Born in Patan, Gujarat, India, he moved to the U.S. as an infant and grew up in Maryland. Judge Mehta will oversee four civil cases related to the January 6 events, which seek to hold Trump accountable for alleged damages and political fallout.
The other three judges not born in the U.S. were nominated by current President Joe Biden.
Judge Ana Cecilia Reyes, nominated in 2021 and lacking prior judicial experience, was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. She relocated to Spain as a child and later settled in Louisville, Kentucky, where she spent her formative years.
How can such a situation be permissible, and why is it not more widely discussed?
