Leslie Abrams Gardner

Leslie Abrams Gardner (née Leslie Joyce Abrams; born December 6, 1974) is a U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Leslie Abrams Gardner
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office November 20, 2014
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Louis Sands
Personal details
Born	Leslie Joyce Abrams December 6, 1974 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Relatives	Stacey Abrams (sister)
Education	Brown University (BA) Yale University (JD)

Biography

Gardner is the daughter of the Reverend Carolyn and the Reverend Robert Abrams, originally of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was one of six children. Her sister Stacey Abrams is the former House Minority Leader in the Georgia General Assembly, and the Democratic nominee for governor in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election.[1][2]

Gardner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 from Brown University. She received a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Yale Law School. She began her career serving as a law clerk for Judge Marvin J. Garbis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. She served as an associate at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP, from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2007 to 2010. She served as an associate at the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, from 2006 to 2007. From 2010 to 2014, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia.[3][4]

Federal judicial service

On March 11, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Gardner to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Georgia, to the seat being vacated by Judge W. Louis Sands, who took senior status on April 12, 2014.[5] She received a hearing before the full panel of the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 13, 2014.[6] On June 19, 2014, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[7] On November 12, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on her nomination. On Monday, November 17, 2014 cloture was invoked by a vote of 68–28.[8] On Tuesday, November 18, 2014 the Senate confirmed her by a vote of 100–0.[9] She received her judicial commission on November 20, 2014.[4]

References

1. Bradner, Eric (May 22, 2018). "Stacey Abrams wins Democratic primary in Georgia. She could become the nation's first Black woman governor". CNN. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
2. Zito, Salena (June 25, 2017). "The fate of the Democrats' future may lie in Georgia". The Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
3. "President Obama Nominates Leslie Joyce Abrams to Serve on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia". March 11, 2014.
4. "Abrams, Leslie Joyce – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
5. "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". March 11, 2014.
6. "Judicial Nominations". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
7. "Executive Business Meeting" (PDF). United States Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
8. "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress – 2nd Session". Vote Summary: Vote Number 277. United States Senate. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
9. "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress – 2nd Session". Vote Summary: Vote Number 281. United States Senate. Retrieved November 18, 2014.

External links

• Leslie Abrams Gardner at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Leslie Joyce Abrams at Ballotpedia