Thomas Lamson Ludington (born December 28, 1953) is a

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 Eastern District of Michigan The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (in case citations, E.D. Mich.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over of the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of the State of Michigan. The Court is based ...

. Although the Eastern District of Michigan's other 14 judges cover the Southern Division, Ludington is the only judge for the entire Northern Division, which covers nearly a quarter of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

's land mass.

Education and career

Born in

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Michigan. The city's population was 42,547 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Co ...

, Ludington received a

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 yea ...

degree from

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Inter ...

in 1976 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 l ...

from the

University of San Diego School of Law The University of San Diego School of Law (USD Law) is the law school of the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961. It ...

in 1979. During the summers of 1976 and 1977, he directed the water-ski school for

Culver Academies Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culve ...

Culver, Indiana Culver is a town in Marshall County, Indiana, United States. Culver is part of Union Township, which also includes the communities of Burr Oak, Hibbard, Maxinkuckee and Rutland. The population of Culver was 1,129 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

. He was in private practice in

from 1980 to 1994. He was a judge on the Midland County Circuit Court from 1994 to 2006, serving as Chief Judge of that court from 1999 to 2006.

Federal judicial service

Ludington was originally nominated through President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on September 12, 2002, to a federal judgeship in the

vacated by Paul V. Gadola. During this time the judicial nomination process was blocked by Democrats in 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 ...

, and Ludington's appointment was delayed for 1,365 days. Ludington was later confirmed

unanimously Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or imp ...

on June 8, 2006, and received his commission on June 12, 2006.

Notable opinions

In Al-Sadoon v. Lynch, 586 F. Supp. 3d 713 (E.D. Mich. 2022), Ludington granted habeas relief—for the first time in his nearly 30-year tenure as a judge—to Ali Najim Al-Sadoon, who had been held in detention since being arrested in 2019, while removal proceedings were pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Ludington found that the government had detained Al-Sadoon "not charged with any crime, for 757 days—more than 17% of his life," which was "longer than any other abeaspetitioner—ever."

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludington, Thomas Lamson 1953 births Living people Michigan state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush 21st-century American judges People from Midland, Michigan Albion College alumni University of San Diego School of Law alumni