Debra Ann Livingston (born April 15, 1959) is an American lawyer who serves as the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Early life and education

Livingston was born in Waycross, Georgia, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree,

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

, from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1980 and a

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

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 ...

in 1984, where she served as an editor of the

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

Career

Livingston served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge

J. Edward Lumbard Joseph Edward Lumbard Jr. (August 18, 1901 – June 3, 1999) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Education and career Born on August 18, 1901, in Harlem,New York City, New York, Lumba ...

of the Second Circuit after graduating from law school. From 1986 to 1991, she was 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 ...

in the Southern District of New York, where she handled criminal cases, including the prosecution of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

, former President of the Philippines.Debra A. Livingston
/ref> After working as a legal consultant to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Livingston was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a New York City law firm. From 1994-2003, she served as Commissioner of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Federal judicial service

Livingston was first nominated to fill former Chief Judge

John M. Walker, Jr. John Mercer Walker Jr. (born December 26, 1940) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He served as chief judge from September 30, 2000, to September 30, 2006, when he assumed senior ...

's seat on the Second Circuit on June 28, 2006 by President George W. Bush. That nomination was made during the

109th Congress The 109th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, dur ...

. However, that Congress adjourned before granting Livingston a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Bush renominated Livingston on January 9, 2007 to the

110th Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...

. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on her nomination on April 11, 2007, and approved it on April 25, 2007. The Senate confirmed her nomination on May 9, 2007, by a 91–0 vote, almost one year after she was first nominated. She received her commission on May 17, 2007. She became Chief Judge on September 1, 2020.

Notable rulings

In December 2019, Livingston partially dissented from a federal appeals court ruling ordering that Donald Trump comply with a subpoena and turn over his tax returns to the U.S. House of Representatives. She stated, "I cannot accept the majority's conclusions that 'this case does not concern separation of powers,' and that there is 'minimal at best' risk of distraction to this and future Presidents from legislative subpoenas of this sort." Livingston said she would send the case back to a lower court and require the House committees to provide more details about the legislative purposes behind their requests before deciding whether the banks must comply.

Academia

From 1992 to 1994, Livingston taught

criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

and evidence at the University of Michigan Law School. She joined the faculty of Columbia Law School in 1994, and continued to teach there as a Paul J. Kellner Professor of Law following her nomination to the bench. From 2005-2006, she was also the Vice Dean. She is one of the authors of ''Comprehensive Criminal Procedure''.

References

External links

*
Resume posted by U.S. Department of Justice
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Debra Ann 1959 births Living people 21st-century American judges Assistant United States Attorneys Columbia Law School faculty Princeton University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit New York (state) lawyers Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison people People from Waycross, Georgia Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush University of Michigan Law School faculty Women legal scholars 21st-century American women judges