Stephanie Thacker | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Thacker in 2022 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit | |
| Assumed office April 17, 2012 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | M. Blane Michael |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Stephanie Dawn Young (1965-08-22)August 22, 1965 (age 60) |
| Education | Marshall University (BA) West Virginia University (JD) |
Stephanie Dawn Thacker (néeYoung; born August 22, 1965) is aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Born Stephanie Dawn Young inHuntington,West Virginia, she was raised inHamlin, West Virginia.[1] Thacker earned aBachelor of Arts degree in marketing,magna cum laude, fromMarshall University in 1987 and herJuris Doctor, with honors, fromWest Virginia University in 1990.[1]
After graduating from law school, Thacker spent two years working in thePittsburgh office of the law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart (nowK&L Gates).[1] She then worked briefly for the West Virginia Office of the Attorney General before joining the law firm King, Betts & Allen. In 1994, Thacker took a job in the United States Attorney's office for the Southern District of West Virginia, serving as anAssistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division and handling a wide range of criminal prosecutions.[1]
In 1999, Thacker moved toWashington, D.C. to work as a trial attorney in theUnited States Department of Justice'sChild Exploitation and Obscenity Section.[1] She worked there for seven years, serving as Deputy Chief of Litigation for two years and then as Principal Deputy Chief of Litigation for five years.[1] She also was part of the team that prosecuted the first case the United States ever brought involving theViolence Against Women Act.[1] In 2006, Thacker joined theCharleston, West Virginia, law firm Guthrie & Thomas as a partner.[1]
In July 2011, theWest Virginia Record reported that President Obama would select Thacker to the judicial vacancy on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that was created by the death of JudgeM. Blane Michael.[2][1] On September 8, 2011, Obama formally nominated her.[1] TheJudiciary Committee reported her nomination out of the committee on November 3, 2011 by avoice vote.[3] TheUnited States Senate confirmed her nomination on April 16, 2012 by a 91–3 vote.[4] She received her commission on April 17, 2012.[5]
In October 2017, Thacker wrote for the panel majority when it found that the BladensburgPeace Cross memorial from World War I now violated the Constitution'sEstablishment Clause and ordering either its arms removed or the entire monument razed.[6][7] Her judgement was ultimately reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court inAmerican Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019).[8]
In April 2018, Thacker wrote for the majority when it found that a Maryland law prohibitingprice gouging inprescription drug prices violated the constitution'sDormant Commerce Clause.[9][10]
On April 7, 2025, Thacker was one of three judges to order the government to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien who was erroneously deported to El Salvador, back to the United States. Thacker wrote "The United States Government has no legal authority to snatch a person who is lawfully present in the United States off the street and remove him from the country without due process. The Government’s contention otherwise, and its argument that the federal courts are powerless to intervene, are unconscionable."
Furthermore, she expressed concern about the precedent this could set if the Government wins: "The Government may not rely on its own failure to circumvent its own ruling that Abrego Garcia could not be removed to El Salvador. More importantly, the Government cannot be permitted to ignore the Fifth Amendment, deny due process of law, and remove anyone it wants, simply because it claims the victims of its lawlessness are members of a gang. Nor can the Government be permitted to disclaim any ability to return those it has wrongfully removed by citing their physical presence in a foreign jurisdiction. This is a slippery -- and dangerous -- constitutional slope. If due process is of no moment, what is stopping the Government from removing and refusing to return a lawful permanent resident or even a natural born citizen?"[11]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 2012–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |