Arenda Wright Allen
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Assumed office
May 12, 2011
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byJerome B. Friedman
Personal details
Born
Arenda Lauretta Wright

(1960-12-09) December 9, 1960
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationKutztown University of Pennsylvania (BA)
North Carolina Central University (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1985–2005
Rank Commander
UnitNavy Judge Advocate General's Corps

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. She formerly worked as an Assistant United States Attorney and a Federal Public Defender in Norfolk, Virginia.

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 with a Juris Doctor in 1985.[1] In May 2013, Wright Allen was awarded an honorary doctorate from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.[2]

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 Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia from 2001 to 2005. Wright Allen joined the Federal Public Defender's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in 2005, where she had served as a Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender until becoming a federal judge in 2011.[3][1]

Federal judicial service

On the recommendation of Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner, 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, who assumed senior status on November 30, 2010.[1] The United States Senate confirmed Wright Allen on May 11, 2011, by a 96–0 vote.[4] She received her judicial commission the following day.[1]

Overturning Virginia's same-sex marriage ban

On February 13, 2014, Allen overturned Virginia's statutory same-sex marriage ban, finding the ban unconstitutional.[5] 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.[6]

Personal life

Allen is married to Delroy Allen, a retired Jamaican-American soccer player.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Arenda Wright Allen at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ↑ "KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY AWARDS HONORARY DOCTORATE TO JUDGE ARENDA L. WRIG…". October 10, 2013. Archived from the original on October 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ Spemcer S. Hsu (December 1, 2010). "Norfolk lawyer nominated as fed judge". The Crime Scene. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  4. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Arenda L. Wright Allen, of Virginia, to be United States District Judge)". January 8, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Federal Judge Overturns Virginia's Same-Sex Marriage Ban". The New York Times. February 14, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ Barnes, Robert (February 14, 2014). "Judge on Va. gay-marriage ban: 'When core civil rights are at stake, the judiciary must act'". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Judge in gay marriage case difficult to pigeonhole". The Washington Post. February 6, 2014. Archived from the original on February 6, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
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