Thomas Samuel Zilly | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2004 | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington | |
| In office April 20, 1988 – January 1, 2004 | |
| Appointed by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Walter T. McGovern |
| Succeeded by | James Robart |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Samuel Zilly (1935-01-01)January 1, 1935 (age 90) Detroit,Michigan |
| Education | University of Michigan (BA) Cornell University (JD) |
Thomas Samuel Zilly (born January 1, 1935) is asenior United States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington.[1]
Zilly was born inDetroit. He received aBachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Michigan in 1956 and aJuris Doctor fromCornell Law School in 1962. He was aUnited States Naval Reserve Lieutenant (J.G.) from 1956 to 1962, serving onactive duty from 1956 to 1959. He entered private practice inSeattle,Washington, working from 1962 to 1988 at the law firm Lane Powell Moss & Miller. He was a Judge pro tem of the Seattle Municipal Court from 1972 to 1980.[2]
Zilly served as president of the Seattle-King County Bar Association in 1986-1987 and on multiple Washington State Bar Association committees, including as a hearing officer for its disciplinary board and as a bar examiner.[citation needed]
On February 16, 1988, Zilly was nominated by PresidentRonald Reagan to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington vacated by JudgeWalter T. McGovern. A hearing on his nomination was held on March 28, 1988, and the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it on April 14, 1988.[3] Zilly was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on April 19, 1988, and received his commission the following day. He assumedsenior status on January 1, 2004.[2]
In November 1988 Zilly ruled that theUS Fish and Wildlife Service had unlawfully failed to list thenorthern spotted owl under theEndangered Species Act.[4]
In August 1997, Zilly certified aclass-actionlawsuit by 64 prison inmates who alleged they had been subjected toX-ray bombardment of theirtestes during aCold War experiment conducted at theWashington State Penitentiary atWalla Walla during the 1960s.[5]
In June 2002, Zilly ruled that theUniversity of Washington had not engaged in "reverse discrimination" against whitelaw school admission aspirants who had not been admitted to the class entering in fall 1994.[6]
On January 28, 2017, Zilly ordered[7] a temporary injunction preventing the removal from theUnited States of twoYemeni citizens underDonald Trump's order to ban all immigration from seven predominantly Muslim nations.[citation needed]
In February 2019, Zilly ordered theDepartment of Defense not to discriminate against U.S. armed forces members who are naturalized citizens by requiring them to undergo periodic security checks. The plaintiffs in the case were 17 individuals who had enlisted via theMilitary Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program.[8]
In September 2020, Zilly denied a government motion to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of Che Andre Taylor, who had been shot dead bySeattle police officers in 2016.[9]
Zilly presided over the first trial in the Western District of Washington ever conducted via the online platform Zoom during October 2020.[10]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington 1988–2004 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
