Arenda Lauretta Wright Allen (born December 9, 1960) is a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

. She formerly worked as 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 ...

and a Federal Public Defender in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

Early life and education

Born in Philadelphia, Wright Allen graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (then called Kutztown State College) with her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982 and later from

North Carolina Central University School of Law The North Carolina Central University School of Law (also known as NCCU School of Law or NCCU Law) is the law school associated with North Carolina Central University. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the ...

with 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 ...

in 1985. In May 2013, Wright Allen was awarded an honorary doctorate from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Wright Allen started her legal career as a Judge Advocate General's Corps officer in the United States Navy as an active duty officer between 1985 and 1990 and in the United States Navy Reserve between 1992 and 2005. She was an

in the

Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, H ...

from 2001 to 2005. Wright Allen joined the Federal Public Defender's Office for the

in 2005, where she had served as a Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender until becoming a federal judge in 2011.

Federal judicial service

On the recommendation of Senators Jim Webb and

Mark R. Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member ...

, Wright Allen was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by President Barack Obama on December 1, 2010, to a seat vacated

Jerome B. Friedman Jerome B. Friedman (born 1943) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Education and career Born in Newark, New Jersey, Friedman received a Bachelor of Science degree fro ...

, who assumed senior status on November 30, 2010. The United States Senate confirmed Wright Allen on May 11, 2011, by a 96–0 vote. She received her judicial commission the following day.

Overturning Virginia's same-sex marriage ban

On February 13, 2014, Allen overturned Virginia's statutory same-sex marriage ban, finding the ban unconstitutional. In her ruling, Allen inadvertently attributed the principle that "all men are created equal" to the U.S. Constitution, rather than the Declaration of Independence – an error which she corrected in a subsequent amended ruling.

Personal life

Allen is married to

Delroy Allen Delroy Allen (born 6 October 1958 Montego Bay, Jamaica) is a retired Jamaican-American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, American Soccer League and United Soccer League. Early life Allen attend ...

, a retired

Jamaican-American Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican commu ...

soccer player.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright Allen, Arenda 1960 births Living people 20th-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century African-American lawyers African-American female military personnel African-American judges African-American United States Navy personnel American women lawyers Assistant United States Attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Kutztown University of Pennsylvania alumni North Carolina Central University alumni Lawyers from Philadelphia People from Norfolk, Virginia Public defenders United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama Female United States Navy officers United States Navy reservists