Sarah Elisabeth Geraghty (born 1974) is an American lawyer from Georgia who serves 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

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions. Appeals from cases ...

. She previously was senior counsel for the Southern Center for Human Rights.

Education

Geraghty 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

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1996, her Master of Social Work from the

University of Michigan School of Social Work The University of Michigan School of Social Work is a professional school within the University of Michigan located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. History A formal curriculum in social work was first offered by the University of Michigan College o ...

in 1998 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 the University of Michigan Law School in 1999.

Legal career

Geraghty 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

James Zagel James Block Zagel (born March 4, 1941) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a novelist. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Jewish ...

of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...

from 2000 to 2002. From 2002 to 2003, she was a staff attorney with the Office of the Appellate Defender in

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 2003 to 2022, she was with the Southern Center for Human Rights in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and from 2015 to 2020 served as managing attorney of the Impact Litigation Unit.

Federal judicial service

On September 30, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Geraghty to serve as a

of the

. President Biden nominated Geraghty to the seat vacated by Judge

Amy Totenberg Amy Mil Totenberg (born December 29, 1950) is a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She previously worked in private practice in Atlanta and also formerly served as a Special Master for the Uni ...

, 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 April 3, 2021. On December 1, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On January 3, 2022, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of 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 ...

; she was later renominated the same day. On January 20, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On March 16, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 49–46 vote. On March 31, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 52–48 vote. She received her judicial commission on April 8, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geraghty, Sarah Elisabeth 1974 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Northwestern University alumni Lawyers from Chicago United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden University of Michigan Law School alumni University of Michigan School of Social Work alumni