James Boasberg

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James Boasberg
Official portrait, 2016
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 17, 2023
Preceded byBeryl Howell
Chief Judge of the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court
In office
January 1, 2020 – January 1, 2025
Preceded byRosemary M. Collyer
Succeeded byJoan N. Ericksen
Presiding Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
In office
January 1, 2020 – May 19, 2021
Preceded byRosemary M. Collyer
Succeeded byRudolph Contreras
Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
In office
May 18, 2014 – May 19, 2021
Preceded byReggie Walton
Succeeded byAmit Mehta
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 17, 2011
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byThomas F. Hogan
Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
In office
September 2002 – March 14, 2011
Appointed byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byGregory Mize
Succeeded byJohn F. McCabe[1]
Personal details
Born
James Emanuel Boasberg

(1963-02-20) February 20, 1963 (age 62)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Spouse
Elizabeth Leslie Manson
​
​
(m. 1991)​
EducationYale University (BA, JD)
St Peter's College, Oxford (MSt)

James Emanuel "Jeb" Boasberg (born February 20, 1963)[2] is an American lawyer and jurist who is the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Appointed by President George W. Bush, he served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2002 to 2011, before Barack Obama nominated him to the US district court for the District of Columbia. Chief Justice John G. Roberts appointed him to the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) in 2014, and he served as the presiding judge of the FISC from 2020 to 2021. In 2020, he was appointed to the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court and designated chief judge.

Early life and education

Boasberg was born in San Francisco, California, in 1963, to parents Sarah Margaret (née Szold) and Emanuel Boasberg III.[3][4] The family moved to Washington, D.C. when Boasberg's father accepted a position in Sargent Shriver's Office of Economic Opportunity, a "Great Society" agency responsible for implementing and administering many of Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty programs.[5][6]

Boasberg graduated in 1981 from St. Albans School in Washington, D.C.[7] He then attended Yale University, where he was a member of the undergraduate society Skull and Bones[8] and, at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall, played forward for the Yale Bulldogs men's basketball team.[9] He graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude. The following year, he received a Master of Studies degree from St Peter's College, Oxford.[10] From 1986 to 1987, Boasberg was a history teacher and women's basketball coach at Horace Mann School in New York City. He then attended Yale Law School, where he was a classmate of future Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. He graduated in 1990 with a Juris Doctor.[10][11]

After completing law school, Boasberg served as a law clerk for Judge Dorothy Wright Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1990 to 1991.[10] He then went into private practice, working in San Francisco at Keker, Brockett & Van Nest (now Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP) from 1991 to 1994 and then in the District of Columbia at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick from 1995 to 1996.[12] In 1996, Boasberg joined the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia where he would spend five and a half years as a prosecutor, specializing in homicides.[12][11]

Judicial service, 2002-present

In September 2002, Boasberg became an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, appointed by President George W. Bush. He served in the civil and criminal divisions, and the domestic violence branch, until his appointment to the federal bench in 2011.[12] During the 111th Congress, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton recommended Boasberg to fill a judicial vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.[13] On June 17, 2010, President Barack Obama formally nominated Boasberg to the district court for the District of Columbia.[10] Boasberg was confirmed on March 14, 2011, by a 96–0 vote.[14] He received his commission on March 17, 2011. He became the chief judge on March 17, 2023.[11]

Boasberg is considered a feeder judge, sending numerous clerks to the Supreme Court.[15]

Appointment to United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, 2014-2021

On February 7, 2014, Chief Justice John G. Roberts announced that he would appoint Boasberg to the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) for a term starting May 18, 2014, to a seat being vacated by Reggie Walton.[16][17] His term began May 18, 2014.[11] On December 20, 2019, the FISC announced he would replace the presiding judge FISC January 1, 2020[18] and elevated to preside. His term as presiding judge and judge of the FISC ended on May 19, 2021.

Appointment to supervise FISA reforms

After a special appointment to oversee FISA court reforms[19] the judge made orders and procedures to the FISA court following the irregularities and criminal offenses discovered by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz in his Crossfire Hurricane investigation report. Presiding on the trial and sentencing of Kevin Clinesmith for altering an email that was used in the FISA filing for an investigation of Trump presidential advisor, Carter Page, Boasberg gave Clinesmith probation rather than the recommended prison time.[20]

Appointment to Alien Terrorist Removal court

In 2020, he was appointed to the United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court and designated chief judge. His term ended in 2025.[11]

Notable rulings

Osama Bin Laden photos

Further information: Killing of Osama bin Laden § Release of photographs

On April 26, 2012, Boasberg ruled that the public had no right to view government photos of a deceased Osama bin Laden. Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, had filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but were unsuccessful in convincing Boasberg that FOIA rights outweighed national-security factors.[21]

Hillary Clinton emails

Further information: Hillary Clinton email controversy

On August 22, 2016, Boasberg ordered the release of over 14,000 emails found in the United States Department of State correspondence of Hillary Clinton by the FBI during an investigation of Clinton's private server.[22] These emails were requested by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, because the FBI had indicated that emails were work-related and not entirely private as Clinton had previously said.[22]

Trump tax returns

Further information: Tax returns of Donald Trump

On August 18, 2017, Boasberg dismissed a lawsuit from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which had sued the IRS under FOIA seeking President Donald Trump's personal tax returns from 2010 to the present to be released. Boasberg concluded that because personal tax returns are confidential, they may only be obtained either by permission from Trump himself or if Congress' joint committee on taxation signed off to allow the disclosure.[23]

Medicaid work rules

On March 27, 2019, Boasberg blocked a work requirement for recipients of Medicaid in Arkansas and Kentucky.[24]

Dakota Access Pipeline

On March 25, 2020, Boasberg ordered a sweeping new environmental review by the Army Corps of Engineers of the Dakota Access Pipeline.[25]

In a subsequent decision on July 6, 2020, he vacated an easement to cross the Missouri River pending completion of the environmental review and ordered the pipeline to be emptied within 30 days.[26] On August 5, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the ruling regarding the easement; however, the judges vacated the order to empty the pipeline and asked the Army Corps of Engineers to submit a follow-up brief on whether they would allow continued pipeline operation without the easement.[27]

North Atlantic right whale

On April 9, 2020, Boasberg issued an opinion finding that the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Endangered Species Act when it issued a biological opinion in 2014 allowing for the accidental killings of North Atlantic right whales, of which only about 400 remained as of April 8, 2020; by the American lobster fishery, which consists of seven areas spanning the east coast from Maine to North Carolina.[28]

Deportations

Further information: March 2025 Venezuelan deportations

In early 2025, the second Trump administration began deporting Venezuelan nationals alleged to be members of Tren de Aragua, citing the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as justification.[29] However, on March 15, 2025, Boasberg issued a 14-day restraining order, stating that he did not believe federal law permits the Trump administration to bypass removal proceedings in this manner. Specifically, Boasberg noted there is no historical precedent for this kind of deportation when Congress has not declared war.[30] In response, Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized Boasberg.[31] Though Boasberg verbally ordered that any planes in the air carrying those covered by his order be turned back and those individuals returned to the US, the Trump administration allowed flights carrying migrants from Venezuela to proceed to El Salvador.[32][29]

Trump border czar Tom Homan said that the Trump administration completed the deportations despite the court order because Boasberg's order was made when the planes were above international waters after departing the United States.[33] White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Boasberg's order "had no lawful basis [...] A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier".[34] Leavitt also expressed doubts about "whether a verbal order carries the same weight as a written order", while the Trump administration argued in court that "an oral directive is not enforceable as an injunction".[35][36] On March 17, 2025, Trump posted on social media that Boasberg was a "Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator" and called for his impeachment. The same day, Republican representative Brandon Gill introduced an impeachment resolution in the House of Representatives.[37] In a rare public notice, John Roberts, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, said that impeachment was not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.[20]

After Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to provide more information about the deportation flights, the Trump administration answered some of his questions, but for the remainder, the Trump administration responded that "there is no justification to order the provision of additional information, and that doing so would be inappropriate".[38]

American Oversight v. Hegseth

American Oversight v. Hegseth is a pending lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The case concerns allegations that officials in the Trump administration unlawfully used the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive military operations, in violation of federal record-keeping laws. Chief Judge James Boasberg was randomly assigned to the case.[39][40]

The "Houthi PC small group" Signal chat was a messaging thread involving senior officials of the Trump administration in 2025, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Vice President J.D. Vance. The group discussed operational details related to a U.S. military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15, 2025.[41]

Personal life

Boasberg married Elizabeth Leslie Manson in 1991.[3] His brother, Tom Boasberg, succeeded Michael Bennet as Superintendent of Denver Public Schools after Colorado Governor Bill Ritter appointed Bennet to the United States Senate in January 2009.[42][43]

Boasberg is an aficionado of William Shakespeare's plays. In February 2018, he played a crown prosecutor in The Trial of Hamlet that was presented at the Shakespeare Theatre Company.[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Report of Recommendations and Chief Judge Designations and Presidential Appointments to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia May 8, 1975 to September 30, 2013" (PDF). District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission. October 31, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  2. ^ U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs (2002). Hearing before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, second session, on the nomination of James "Jeb" E. Boasberg to be an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, June 26, 2002 (Volume 107, Issue 561 of S. hrg, United States Congress ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O. ISBN 9780160689093. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Elizabeth Leslie Manson Is Married To J. E. Boasberg in New Hampshire". The New York Times. August 26, 1991. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  4. ^ Higgins, Adrian (April 3, 2012). "Sally Boasberg, landscape designer and advocate for District's green spaces, dies at 74". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Nancy (January 9, 2009). "Boasberg sole finalist for DPS superintendent job". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009.
  6. ^ Meyer, Jeremy P. (January 21, 2009). "Boosters say Boasberg's the man to lead DPS". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  7. ^ "National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists Announced". The Washington Post. September 18, 1980. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  8. ^ Robbins, Alexandra (July 2004). "Powerful Secrets". Vanity Fair. p. 116.
  9. ^ Savage, Charlie (March 13, 2023). "Gavel to Pass to New Chief Judge Overseeing Grand Jury in Trump Inquiry". The New York Times.
  10. ^ a b c d The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (June 17, 2010). "President Obama Names Three to United States District Court". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017 – via National Archives. Alt URL Archived February 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b c d e James Boasberg at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  12. ^ a b c U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. "Official Biography". Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Palazzolo, Joe (February 8, 2010). "White House Vetting OPR Chief for Federal Judgeship". Main Justice. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  14. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation James Emanuel Boasberg, of the District of Columbia, to be U.S. District Judge)". Senate.gov. March 24, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Lat, David (August 20, 2015). "Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Ranking The Non-Traditional Feeder Judges - Above the Law". Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "FISA Court Appointments, Potential Reforms, and More from CRS". Secrecy News. Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  17. ^ "Two Judges Appointed to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  18. ^ Savage, Charlie (December 20, 2019). "Surveillance Court Orders Review of Actions by Ex-F.B.I. Lawyer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
  19. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (April 3, 2020). "Federal court orders government to assess whether FISA applications were so flawed they should not have been approved". Washington Post. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Hsu, Spencer S. (March 18, 2025). "Who is the judge Trump wants impeached over Venezuelan deportations?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  21. ^ Mears, Bill (April 26, 2012). "Federal judge blocks release of bin Laden death photos". CNN. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  22. ^ a b Reid, Paula (August 22, 2016). "Judge orders expedited release of 15,000 Hillary Clinton documents found by FBI". CBS News. New York City, New York. Retrieved August 22, 2016. Initially, the State Department attorney would not answer Judge James Boasberg's repeated questions about the number of emails recovered by the FBI. The judge urged the State Department to expedite its review of what is called 'Disc 1,' which is one of two discs handed over from FBI to the State Department in late July.
  23. ^ Seipel, Brooke (August 18, 2017). "Federal court can't force IRS to release Trump's tax returns". The Hill. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  24. ^ "Federal judge blocks Medicaid work rules in blow to Trump". Associated Press. March 27, 2019.
  25. ^ Friedman, Lisa (March 25, 2020). "Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Wins a Victory in Dakota Access Pipeline Case". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  26. ^ Wamsley, Laurel (July 6, 2020). "Court Rules Dakota Access Pipeline Must Be Emptied For Now". NPR.org. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  27. ^ Willis, Adam (August 5, 2020). "Court issues mixed ruling on DAPL, letting the pipeline stay open during appeal". Jamestown Sun. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  28. ^ Abel, David (April 9, 2020). "In major ruling for right whales, federal judge rules that regulators violated Endangered Species Act". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  29. ^ a b Helmore, Edward; Phillips, Tom (March 16, 2025). "US deports 250 alleged gang members to El Salvador despite court ruling to halt flights". The Guardian. No. March 16, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  30. ^ Riccardi, Nicholas; Garcia Cano, Regina (March 16, 2025). "Trump administration deports hundreds of immigrants even as a judge orders their removals be stopped". Associated Press. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  31. ^ "Statement from Attorney General Pamela Bondi on Federal Judge Blocking Deportations". Office of Public Affairs (Press release). United States Department of Justice. March 15, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  32. ^ Goodman, Ryan (March 16, 2025). "Timeline of US Flight to El Salvador and Judge's Order to Turn Around Planes". Just Security. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  33. ^ Saric, Ivana (March 17, 2025). "Trump's border czar: "I don't care what the judges think"". Axios. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  34. ^ Caputo, Mark (March 16, 2025). "Exclusive: How the White House ignored a judge's order to turn back deportation flights". Axios. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  35. ^ Samuels, Brett (March 17, 2025). "White House questions authority of judge's verbal order on Venezuelan deportation flights". The Hill. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  36. ^ Wendling, Mike (March 17, 2025). "Judge questions White House's refusal to turn around deportation flights". BBC News. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  37. ^ Brooks, Emily (March 18, 2025). "Republican files impeachment against judge who ruled against Trump deportations". The Hill. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  38. ^ Grumbach, Gary; Atkins, Chloe; Gregorian, Dareh (March 18, 2025). "DOJ refuses to answer some questions from the judge who blocked Alien Enemies Act deportations". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 19, 2025. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  39. ^ American Oversight v. Hegseth, No. 1:25-cv-00883 (D.D.C. March 25, 2025).
  40. ^ Raymond, Nate (March 26, 2025). "U.S. judge in Trump deportation case assigned lawsuit over Signal scandal". Reuters. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  41. ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (March 26, 2025). "Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  42. ^ Meyer, Jeremy P. (January 9, 2009). "Finalist is the face behind recent efforts". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  43. ^ Osher, Christopher N. (January 23, 2009). "Boasberg is unanimous pick for superintendent". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  44. ^ "The Trial of Hamlet". Shakespeare Theatre Company in the District of Columbia. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
2011–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
2023–present
Preceded by Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
2014–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Presiding Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
2020–2021 		Succeeded by
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