Angel Kelley (born 1967) is an American attorney and judge serving as a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
. She is a former associate justice of the
Massachusetts Superior Court
The Massachusetts Superior Court (also known as the Superior Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court department in Massachusetts.
The Superior Court has original jurisdiction in civil actions over $50,000, and in matters where equita ...
.
Education
Kelley received her
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...
in 1989, her
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
in trial advocacy from
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
in 2003, and her
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in 1992.
["President Biden Announces Third Slate of Judicial Nominees", White House, May 12, 2021](_blank)
Legal and academic career
Kelley began her legal career as a staff attorney at
The Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal aid provider based in New York City. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest and largest provider of legal aid in the United States. Its attorneys provide representation on criminal and civil m ...
in the Juvenile Rights Division in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 2005, she was an attorney for the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
. From 2007 to 2009, Kelley served as an
Assistant United States Attorney
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
for the
United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.
From 1992 to 2005, she was a part-time instructor at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. From 2004 to 2005 she was a part-time instructor at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. From 2005 to 2007, she was a clinical instructor at
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
. Since 2012, she has been a part-time
adjunct professor
An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and
the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
at
Suffolk University Law School
Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...
. Since 2016, she has been a volunteer instructor at
Emory University School of Law
Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University and is part of the University's main campus in Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the Am ...
and since 2018, she has been a part-time adjunct professor at
Boston University School of Law
Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...
.
Judicial career
State judicial service
In 2009, she was appointed to the
Massachusetts District Court
The Massachusetts District Court (also known as the District Court Department of the Trial Court) is a trial court in Massachusetts that hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental health, and other types of cases.
Distr ...
by Governor
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...
and sworn in on September 17, 2010. On January 4, 2013, she was nominated to be a judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court and confirmed to the position on January 24, 2013, in a 6–2 vote.
Federal judicial service
![Judge_Angel_Kelley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Judge_Angel_Kelley.png)
On May 12, 2021, President
Joe Biden nominated Kelley to serve as a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
for the
to the seat vacated by Judge
Douglas P. Woodlock
Douglas Preston Woodlock (born February 27, 1947) is a United States federal judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Born in Connecticut, Woodlock graduated from Yale College and worked as a journalist befo ...
, who assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on June 1, 2015. On June 23, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the
Senate Judiciary Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
. On July 22, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–7 vote. On September 14, 2021, the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52-43 vote. Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 52–44 vote. She received her judicial commission on September 15, 2021, and was sworn in the same day.
She is the second African American female judge and the second Asian American judge to serve on the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
See also
*
List of African-American federal judges
This is a list of African Americans who have served as United States federal judges. , 260 African-Americans have served on the federal bench.
United States Supreme Court
United States Courts of Appeals
United States District Courts ...
*
List of African-American jurists
This list includes individuals self-identified as African Americans who have made prominent contributions to the field of law in the United States, especially as eminent judges or legal scholars. Individuals who may have obtained law degrees or ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Angel
1967 births
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American women lawyers
21st-century American judges
21st-century American lawyers
21st-century American women lawyers
21st-century American women judges
African-American judges
American jurists of Asian descent
Assistant United States Attorneys
Boston University School of Law faculty
Colgate University alumni
Columbia University faculty
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Harvard Law School faculty
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Living people
Massachusetts lawyers
Massachusetts state court judges
New York University faculty
People from New Rochelle, New York
Suffolk University Law School faculty
Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni
United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden
Emory University School of Law faculty