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Leslie Abrams Gardner

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Leslie Abrams Gardner
Gardner in 2014
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 1, 2024
Preceded byMarc T. Treadwell
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 20, 2014
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byWillie Louis Sands
Personal details
Born
Leslie Joyce Abrams

(1974-12-06) December 6, 1974 (age 49)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Spouse
Jimmie Gardner
​
(m. 2018)​
RelativesStacey Abrams (sister)
EducationBrown University (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Leslie Abrams Gardner (née Leslie Joyce Abrams; born December 6, 1974) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was an assistant United States attorney.[1]

Biography

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Gardner is the daughter of the Reverend Carolyn and the Reverend Robert Abrams, originally of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was one of six children. Her older sister Stacey Abrams is the former House Minority Leader in the Georgia General Assembly, and the Democratic nominee for governor in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election[2][3] and 2022 Georgia gubernatorial election.

Gardner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 from Brown University. She received a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Yale Law School. She began her career serving as a law clerk for Judge Marvin J. Garbis of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. She served as an associate at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2007 to 2010. She served as an associate at the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, from 2006 to 2007. From 2010 to 2014, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Georgia.[4][5]

Gardner married her husband, Jimmie Gardner, in 2018; he had been exonerated two years prior for spending more than 25 years in prison for accusations of sexual assault.[6] In November 2023, the Tampa Police Department released a statement stating her husband had been arrested on allegations of human trafficking.[7]

Federal judicial service

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On March 11, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Gardner to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, to the seat being vacated by Judge Willie Louis Sands, who subsequently assumed senior status on April 12, 2014.[8] She received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 13, 2014.[9] On June 19, 2014, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[10] On November 12, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on her nomination. On November 17, 2014, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 68–28 vote.[11] On November 18, 2014, her nomination was confirmed by a 100–0 vote.[12] She received her judicial commission on November 20, 2014.[5] She became chief judge on June 1, 2024.[13]

In May 2024, NPR revealed that Gardner had received free travel in 2022 to the Sage Lodge Colloquium, a privately funded legal seminar hosted at a resort in Montana's Paradise Valley, but had failed to disclose this on her required annual financial disclosure report for that year, in violation of federal law.[14] In response, court clerk David Bunt told NPR that the financial disclosures were incomplete due to an "oversight" and that Gardner was updating her disclosure reports.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Leslie Abrams Gardner, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  2. ^ Bradner, Eric (May 22, 2018). "Stacey Abrams wins Democratic primary in Georgia. She could become the nation's first Black woman governor". CNN. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  3. ^ Zito, Salena (June 25, 2017). "The fate of the Democrats' future may lie in Georgia". The Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "President Obama Nominates Leslie Joyce Abrams to Serve on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia". whitehouse.gov. March 11, 2014 – via National Archives.
  5. ^ a b Leslie Abrams Gardner at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  6. ^ Rubin, Leslie. "Man whose convictions were overturned after 27 years in prison settles suit for $3 million". WCHS-TV. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  7. ^ Rodriguez, Nathaniel. "Stacey Abrams' brother-in-law arrested in Tampa for human trafficking, attacking teen: police". WFLA-TV. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  8. ^ "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. March 11, 2014 – via National Archives.
  9. ^ "Judicial Nominations". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. May 13, 2014.
  10. ^ "Executive Business Meeting" (PDF). United States Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  11. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Leslie Joyce Abrams, of Georgia, to be U.S. District Judge)". United States Senate. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  12. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Leslie Joyce Abrams, of Georgia, to be U.S. District Judge)". United States Senate. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  13. ^ Grant, Ty (May 31, 2024). "Chief Judge named for Middle District of Ga". walb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Dreisbach, Tom; Johnson, Carrie (May 1, 2024). "When judges get free trips to luxury resorts, disclosure is spotty". NPR. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
2014–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
2024–present
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