Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot.Click to learn more!

Lydia Kay Griggsby

From Ballotpedia

Jump to:navigation,search

Lydia Kay Griggsby

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Tenure

2021 - Present

Years in position

Prior offices:

United States Court of Federal Claims Judge

Years in office: 2014 - 2021

Successor:Philip Hadji (Nonpartisan)

Education

Bachelor's

University of Pennsylvania, 1990

Law

Georgetown University Law Center, 1993

Contact

Official website

Lydia Kay Griggsby is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland. She was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on April 19, 2021, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on June 16, 2021, by a vote of 59-39.^[1]^[2] Griggsby was one of 235Article III judges nominated by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed byJoe Biden,click here.

TheUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland is one of 94U.S. District Courts. They are the generaltrial courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the court,click here.

Griggsby was afederal judge on theUnited States Court of Federal Claims. She was nominated to that position by PresidentBarack Obama (D) to fill a vacancy on April 10, 2014.^[3] Griggsby was confirmed on December 4, 2014, and received her judicial commission the next day.^[4] Prior to serving on the Court of Federal Claims, Griggsby was the Chief Counsel for Privacy and Information Policy for the United StatesSenate Judiciary Committee.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Maryland (2021-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On April 19, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Griggsby to theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland. She was confirmed by a 59-39 vote of the U.S. Senate on June 16, 2021. She received commission on July 20, 2021.^[1]^[5] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Lydia Kay Griggsby
Court:United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Progress
Confirmed 58 days after nomination.
ANominated: April 19, 2021
AABA Rating:Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: May 12, 2021

QFRs:QFRs(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: June 10, 2021
AConfirmed: June 16, 2021
AVote: 59-39

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Griggsby on June 16, 2021, on a vote of 59-39.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Lydia Kay Griggsby confirmation vote (June 16, 2021)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	2
Republican	11	39	0
Independent	2	0	0
Total	59	39	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Griggsby's nomination on May 12, 2021. The committee voted to advance Griggsby's nomination to the full Senate on June 10, 2021.

Nomination

On March 30, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Griggsby to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland. The president officially nominated Griggsby on April 19.^[1]^[2]

Griggsby was nominated to replace JudgeCatherine Blake, who assumedsenior status on April 2, 2021.^[2]^[6]

TheAmerican Bar Association rated GriggsbyWell Qualified.^[7] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

United States Court of Federal Claims

On April 10, 2014, Lydia Kay Griggsby was nominated by PresidentBarack Obama to serve a 15-year term on theUnited States Court of Federal Claims. President Obama said the following on the nominations:

“

These men and women have proven themselves to be not only first-rate legal minds but faithful public servants. It is with full confidence in their ability, integrity, and independence that I nominate them to serve on the Court of Federal Claims.^[3]^[8]

”

Griggsby submitted her questionnaire to theSenate Judiciary Committee on April 11, 2014.^[9]

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Griggsby on June 4, 2014.^[10] The committee reported Griggsby to the fullSenate on June 12, 2014, on a voice vote. Griggsby was confirmed by theSenate on December 4, 2014, by voice vote.^[4] Her 15-year term was scheduled to expire on December 4, 2029. Griggsby left the court prior to the end of her term once she was elevated to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Education

Griggsby earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and herJ.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1993.^[3]

Professional career

2008-2014: Chief Counsel for Privacy and Information Policy,Senate Judiciary Committee
2006-2008: Privacy counsel,Senate Judiciary Committee
2004-2005: Counsel, Senate Select Committee on Ethics
1998-2004: Assistant United States attorney,District of Columbia
1995-1998: Trial attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division,United States Department of Justice
1993-1995: Associate,DLA Piper LLP^[3]

Awards and associations

The awards and associations are as they appeared on Griggsby's questionnaire submitted to theSenate Judiciary Committee.

Awards

1997, 1999, 2000, 2003: Department of Justice Special Achievement Award
2001: Inspector General's Award for Enhancing the Quality of Life for Federally Assisted Housing Residents Through Civil Litigation
2001: Secretary of State Commendation Letter for Successful Civil Litigation inJames C. Wood, Jr. ex rel. United States v. The American Institute in Taiwan
2000: United States Attorney's Community Outreach Award
2000: White House Closing the Circle Award for Successful Environmental Enforcement Litigation
1992-1993: American Criminal Law Review, Topics Editor
1991-1992: Center for Applied Legal Studies Clinic
1989-1990: Sphinx Senior Honor Society
1989-1990: Onyx Honor Society

Associations

2012-Present: National Bar Association
2011-Present: Volunteer Usher, Folger Shakespeare Theater
2011-Present: Junior League of Washington
2011-Present: Pearls of the Patuxent River, Incorporated

2012-2013: Parliamentarian

2007-Present: The Society, Incorporated

2013-Present: Member, National Chapter Establishment Committee
2011-2013: Member, National Nominating Committee
2011-2012: Vice President,Washington D.C. Chapter

2003-2004, 2013-Present: American Bar Association

2003: Committee on Children's Rights Litigation

2000-2006: University of Pennsylvania Secondary School Committee
1996-1998: Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women Lawyers Division
1993-1995: Alliance of Black Women Attorneys
1993-1995: American Bar Association
1987-Present: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated

2008-2010: Parliamentarian,Washington D.C. Alumnae Chapter^[9]

About the court

District of Maryland
Fourth Circuit

Judgeships
Posts: 10
Judges: 10
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:George L. Russell, III
Active judges:Adam Abelson,Deborah Boardman,Theodore Chuang,Stephanie A. Gallagher,Lydia Kay Griggsby,Brendan Hurson,Matthew Maddox,Julie Rubin,George L. Russell III,Paula Xinis Senior judges: Richard Bennett,Catherine Blake,James Bredar,Deborah Chasanow,Ellen Hollander,William Nickerson

TheUnited States District Court for the District of Maryland is one of 94United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit based in downtownRichmond, Virginia, at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

The District of Maryland hasoriginal jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are two court divisions, each covering the following counties:

TheBaltimore (Northern) Division, coveringAllegany,Anne Arundel,Baltimore,Baltimore City,Caroline,Carroll,Cecil,Dorchester,Frederick,Garrett,Harford,Howard,Kent,Queen Anne's,Somerset,Talbot,Washington,Wicomico, andWorcester counties

TheGreenbelt (Southern) Division, coveringCalvert,Charles,Montgomery,Prince George's, andSt. Mary's counties

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by theSenate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends ablue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Officeholder

United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Website

Suggest a link

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the District of Maryland 2021-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	United States Court of Federal Claims Judge 2014-2021	Succeeded by Philip Hadji