Angel Kelley | |
|---|---|
 Kelley in 2021 | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts | |
| Assumed office September 15, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Douglas P. Woodlock |
| Judge of theMassachusetts Superior Court | |
| In office 2013 – September 15, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Charlie Baker |
| Judge of theBrockton District Court | |
| In office 2009–2013 | |
| Appointed by | Deval Patrick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1967 (age 57–58) New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Colgate University (BA) Georgetown University (JD) Temple University (LLM) |
Angel Kelley (born 1967) is an American attorney and judge serving as aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She is a former associate justice of theMassachusetts Superior Court.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: other standard elements of this section, now missing. You can help byadding to it.(February 2025) |
Born inNew Rochelle, New York, in 1967, Kelley received herBachelor of Arts fromColgate University in 1989, herJuris Doctor fromGeorgetown University in 1992, and herMaster of Laws in trial advocacy fromTemple University in 2003.[1][2]
Kelley began her legal career as a staff attorney atThe Legal Aid Society in the Juvenile Rights Division inBrooklyn,New York from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 2005, she was an attorney for thePort Authority of New York and New Jersey. From 2007 to 2009, Kelley served as anAssistant United States Attorney for theUnited States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.[1] From 1992 to 2005, she was a part-time instructor atColumbia University. From 2004 to 2005 she was a part-time instructor atNew York University. From 2005 to 2007, she was a clinical instructor atHarvard Law School. Since 2012, she has been a part-timeadjunct professor atSuffolk University Law School. Since 2016, she has been a volunteer instructor atEmory University School of Law and since 2018, she has been a part-time adjunct professor atBoston University School of Law.[3]
In 2009, she was appointed to theBrockton District Court by GovernorDeval Patrick and sworn in on September 17, 2010.[4][5] On January 4, 2013, she was nominated to be a judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court[6] and confirmed to the position on January 24, 2013, in a 6–2 vote.[7][8][9]
On May 12, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden nominated Kelley to serve as aUnited States district judge for theUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to the seat vacated by JudgeDouglas P. Woodlock, who assumedsenior status on June 1, 2015.[10][11] On June 23, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[12] On July 22, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–7 vote.[13] On September 14, 2021, theUnited States Senate invokedcloture on her nomination by a 52–43 vote.[14] Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 52–44 vote.[15] She received her judicial commission on September 15, 2021,[16][17] and was sworn in the same day.[18] She is the second African American female judge and the second Asian American judge to serve on the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.[9]
On February 7, 2025, the office of theNIH Director (Matthew J. Memoli[19]), acting under guidance of thesecond Trump administration, introduced a Notice stating that the NIH would fund the portion ofhigher educational institution research grants termedindirect costs–typically covering institutional overhead expenses including depreciation, research facility maintenance, and research staff support—at a fixed level of 15%, discarding the generally much higher indirect cost percentages that had been previously negotiated for grants in effect to individual institutions.[20][21] A coalition of the attorneys general for 22 states[a] sued the NIH, and Kelley granted atemporary restraining order, effectively blocking the rule from taking effect on February 10.[22][23]The New York Times andForbes.com subsequently reported that Judge Kelley expanded the ruling to cover institutions nationwide "in response to another lawsuit filed by university associations and major research centers".[20] Kelley granted a nationwidepreliminary injunction on March 5, effectively blocking the 15% cap indefinitely, as litigation proceeds.[24] On, April 4, 2025, The New York Times reported: "A federal judge [Kelley] permanently barred the Trump administration on Friday from limiting funding from the National Institutes of Health that supports research at universities and academic medical centers, restoring billions of dollars in grant money but setting up an almost certain appeal. The ruling by Judge Angel Kelley, of the Federal District Court in Massachusetts, made an earlier temporary order by her permanent and was one of the first final decisions in the barrage of lawsuits against the Trump administration."
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.[better source needed]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)...she later expanded it nationwide in response to another lawsuit filed by university associations and major research centers, according to the New York Times.
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts 2021–present | Incumbent |