Zahid Nisar Quraishi (born July 19, 1975) is 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 District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...

and a former

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

of the same court. He is the first Muslim Article III federal judge confirmed by 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 ...

Early life and education

Quraishi was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and raised in

Fanwood, New Jersey Fanwood is a borough in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,774, an increase of 456 (+6.2%) from the 2010 census count of 7,318, which in turn reflected an increa ...

, by his parents Shahida P. Quraishi and Dr. Nisar A. Quraishi, immigrants from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He graduated in 1993 from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. He received his

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 the

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts c ...

in 1997, and his

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 Rutgers Law School in 2000.

Career

Upon graduating from law school, Quraishi served as a law clerk to Judge

Edwin Stern Edwin H. Stern (born June 10, 1941) is a lawyer and judge who served as acting justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court (Judge of the Appellate Division, Temporarily Assigned to the Supreme Court). Stern grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, graduat ...

of the New Jersey Superior Court from 2000 to 2001. From 2001 to 2003, he worked as a litigation associate at

LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP was an international law firm of about 700 attorneys headquartered in New York City. The firm had specialities in energy, public utilities, and insurance. It was founded by Randall LeBoeuf Jr. In 2007, it merged ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at a ...

, attaining the rank of captain, before being honorably discharged in 2007. During this time, Quraishi was stationed in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and deployed twice to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in support of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, both in 2004 and 2006."President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate 11 Judicial Candidates", White House, March 30, 2021

Legal career

In 2007, Quraishi became an assistant chief counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel at

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

in New York City for approximately one year. He later became an Assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the

United States Attorney's Office United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the

District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...

, from 2008 to 2013. Before becoming a judge, Quraishi was an attorney at Morristown's Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti LLP, and was a partner at the firm from 2016–2019. Quraishi taught courses on trial presentation at Rutgers Law School in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021.

Federal judicial service

United States magistrate judge service

Quraishi served as a

of the

, a position he was appointed to on June 3, 2019, and left in 2021 upon becoming a district judge. He was the first Asian-American to sit on the federal bench in New Jersey.

District court service

On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Quraishi to serve as a

of the

. On April 19, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Quraishi to the seat vacated by Judge

Peter G. Sheridan Peter G. Sheridan (born April 21, 1950) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Education and career Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sheridan received a Bachelor of Scien ...

, 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 14, 2018. Quraishi was recommended by Senator Cory Booker. On April 28, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On May 20, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 19–3 vote. On June 10, 2021, the

invoked cloture on his nomination by a 83–16 vote. His nomination was confirmed later that day by a 81–16 vote. Upon confirmation, he became the first Muslim-American to serve on a federal district court as an

Article III judge Federal tribunals in the United States are those tribunals established by the federal government of the United States for the purpose of resolving disputes involving or arising under federal laws, including questions about the constitutionality ...

. He received his judicial commission on June 22, 2021. Quraishi's nomination drew scrutiny from some Muslim American advocates, who criticized the Biden administration for sidestepping a number of Muslim American civil rights organizations to nominate Quraishi. Critics said many of Quraishi's legal positions are unknown, and that his past work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his role as a "detention advisor" in the Iraq war raised questions about his stance on civil rights.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quraishi, Zahid 1975 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges American Muslims American people of Pakistani descent Assistant United States Attorneys John Jay College of Criminal Justice alumni United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey Lawyers from New York City New Jersey lawyers People from Fanwood, New Jersey Rutgers Law School alumni Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni United States Army officers United States Department of Homeland Security officials United States magistrate judges United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden

Early life and education

Career

Legal career

Federal judicial service

United States magistrate judge service

District court service

See also

References

External links