![Gladys Kessler listens to students](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Gladys_Kessler_listens_to_students.jpg)
Gladys Kessler (born January 22, 1938) is an inactive
Senior United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District ...
.
Education and career
After receiving 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 year ...
degree from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
and
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
from
Harvard Law School, she was hired by the
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Na ...
. She worked as a
legislative assistant to
United States Senator
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 powe ...
Harrison A. Williams
Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams Jr. (December 10, 1919November 17, 2001) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a Democrat who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives (1953–1957) and the United States Sena ...
(
D–
NJ), and subsequently for
United States Congressman
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
Jonathan B. Bingham (
D–
NY). Kessler worked for the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
Board of Education, and then opened a public interest law firm.
Judicial career
Superior Court of the District of Columbia service
In June 1977, she was appointed Associate Judge of the
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, commonly referred to as DC Superior Court, is the trial court for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law, as well as family court, landlor ...
, and from 1981 to 1985 served as Presiding Judge of the Family Division. She was President of the National Association of Women Judges from 1983 to 1984, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...
Conference of Federal Trial Judges and the U.S. Judicial Conference's Committee on Court Administration and Management.
Federal judicial service
On March 22, 1994, President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
nominated Kessler to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to the seat vacated by Judge
Michael Boudin. She was confirmed by the
Senate on June 15, 1994, and received her commission on June 16, 1994. She took senior status on January 22, 2007, and was succeeded by Judge
Amy Berman Jackson
Amy Sauber Berman Jackson (born July 22, 1954) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Early life and education
Amy Berman was born on July 22 ...
.
In 2002 she heard a case lodged by the
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development
The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) was the largest Islamic charity in the United States. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, and run by Palestinian-Americans, it was originally known as Occupied Land Fund. The organization's mission was to "find a ...
appealing against their designation as a terrorist organisation under
Executive Order 13224
Executive Order 13224 is an executive order issued by U.S. President George W. Bush on September 23, 2001, as a response to the attacks on September 11, 2001. It has been renewed every year since.
History
In general terms, the Order provides ...
. At the time the Palestinian-American charity was the largest Muslim charity in the United States, taking $13 million in donations in 2000. The Judge dismissed the case ordering all evidence be struck from the record. The Circuit Court of Appeal decided that she had been mistaken in her decision to not allow the case to go before a jury, but due to the fact that the case involved national security they would allow the decision to stand.
Detainee treatment cases
Kessler is the first judge to consider an appeal that the executive branch is violating the
Detainee Treatment Act
The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) is an Act of the United States Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on 30 December 2005. Offered as an amendment to a supplemental defense spending bill, it contains provisions re ...
. In 2006, she heard the case of
Mohammad Bawazir, a prisoner at
Camp Delta
Camp Delta is a permanent American detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay that replaced the temporary facilities of Camp X-Ray. Its first facilities were built between 27 February and mid-April 2002 by Navy Seabees, Marine Engineers, and workers f ...
. The
George W. Bush Administration
George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
argued that the
Detainee Treatment Act
The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA) is an Act of the United States Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on 30 December 2005. Offered as an amendment to a supplemental defense spending bill, it contains provisions re ...
, legislation spearheaded by
John McCain banning cruel or inhuman treatment, did not apply to Bawazir and other detainees at the
Guantanamo Bay detention camp,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
On October 10, 2007, the Washington Post headlined "Judge Orders U.S. Not to Transfer Tunisian Detainee," and reported that Judge Kessler "ruled last week that Mohammed Abdul Rahman cannot be sent
rom Guantanamoto Tunisia because he could suffer 'irreparable harm." The detainee's lawyer said, "The executive has now been told it cannot bury its Guantanamo mistakes in Third World prisons." He also stated that, "This is the first time the judicial branch has exercised its inherent power to control the excesses of the executive as to treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay."
Kessler twice denied relief to detainee
Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab, first determining that she had no jurisdiction over his confinement conditions, and, after that theory was rejected by the
, that the government was permitted to use
force-feeding
Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into ...
s on detainees during the
Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes. Kessler did, however, twice grant news media requests for access to classified video of the force-feedings, before ultimately being reversed by the D.C. Circuit.
See also
*
List of Jewish American jurists
This is a list of notable Jewish American jurists. For other famous Jewish Americans, see Lists of American Jews.
Supreme Court of the United States
Federal judges Appellate judges
* Robert E. Bacharach, Judge of the United States Court of ...
*
United States v. Philip Morris United States v. Philip Morris USA, Inc. was a case in which the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held several major tobacco companies liable for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act b ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Gladys
1938 births
Living people
Cornell University alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
Judges presiding over Guantanamo habeas petitions
Lawyers from New York City
Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges
20th-century American women judges
21st-century American women judges