Arenda Wright Allen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
| Assumed office May 12, 2011 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Jerome B. Friedman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arenda Lauretta Wright (1960-12-09)December 9, 1960 (age 65) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (BA) North Carolina Central University (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1985–2005 |
| Rank |  Commander |
| Unit | Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps |
Arenda Lauretta Wright Allen (born December 9, 1960) is aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She formerly worked as anAssistant United States Attorney and aFederal Public Defender inNorfolk, Virginia.
Born inPhiladelphia, Wright Allen graduated fromKutztown University of Pennsylvania (then called Kutztown State College) with herBachelor of Arts degree in 1982 and later fromNorth Carolina Central University School of Law with aJuris Doctor in 1985.[1] In May 2013, Wright Allen was awarded an honorary doctorate fromKutztown University of Pennsylvania.[2]
Wright Allen started her legal career as aJudge Advocate General's Corps officer in theUnited States Navy as an active duty officer between 1985 and 1990 and in theUnited States Navy Reserve between 1992 and 2005. She was anAssistant United States Attorney in theEastern District of Virginia from 2001 to 2005. Wright Allen joined theFederal Public Defender's Office for theEastern District of Virginia in 2005, where she had served as a Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender until becoming a federal judge in 2011.[3][1]
On the recommendation of SenatorsJim Webb andMark R. Warner, Wright Allen was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by PresidentBarack Obama on December 1, 2010, to a seat vacatedJerome B. Friedman, who assumedsenior status on November 30, 2010.[1] The United States Senate confirmed Wright Allen on May 11, 2011, by a 96–0 vote.[4] She received her judicial commission the following day.[1]
On February 13, 2014, Allen overturned Virginia's statutorysame-sex marriage ban, finding the ban unconstitutional.[5] In her ruling, Allen inadvertently attributed the principle that "all men are created equal" to theU.S. Constitution, rather than theDeclaration of Independence – an error which she corrected in a subsequent amended ruling.[6]
Allen is married toDelroy Allen, a retiredJamaican-American soccer player.[7]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 2011–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
