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Nina Morrison (judge)

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For the Australian rules footballer, see Nina Morrison.
Nina Morrison
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 11, 2022
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byDora Irizarry
Personal details
Born1970 (age 53–54)
New York City, New York, U.S.
ParentAlan Morrison (father)
EducationYale University (BA)
New York University (JD)

Nina Rauh Morrison (born 1970)[1] is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. As part of her work for the Innocence Project, she had been lead or co-counsel in cases that have freed more than 30 wrongly convicted people from prison and death row.[2]

Education

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Morrison was born in 1970 in New York City.[3] She received a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1992 and a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law in 1998.[4]

Career

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From 1992 to 1995, Morrison was an investigator with the California appellate projects, which represents California's death row inmates in post-conviction proceedings.

Morrison began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge Pierre N. Leval of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998 to 1999. She was then an associate at Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff & Abady from 1999 to 2001 focusing on civil rights law.

She joined the Innocence Project in 2002, where she served as executive director until 2004, leading the organization's transition from a law school clinic to an independent nonprofit organization.[4] As senior litigation counsel at the Innocence Project, Morrison served as lead or co-counsel in cases that freed more than 30 wrongly convicted people from prison and death row.[2] From 2002 to 2016, she was an adjunct professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University.[3] In 2017, Morrison served as an advisor to the transition committees for District Attorney of Philadelphia Larry Krasner and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón in 2020.[5]

Federal judicial service

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On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Morrison to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. President Biden nominated Morrison to the seat vacated by Judge Dora Irizarry, who assumed senior status on January 26, 2020.[6] On February 16, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[7] During her hearing, Morrison was questioned by several Republican senators over her understanding of criminal statutes and her past support for progressive prosecutors.[8][9] On March 10, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[10] On May 24, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 50–41 vote.[11] On June 8, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 53–46 vote.[12] She received her judicial commission on August 11, 2022.[13]

Personal life

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Morrison's father, Alan Morrison, is a lawyer and academic has been the Public Interest Dean of the George Washington University Law School since 2009.[14][15] Morrison is the second openly LGBTQ judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Voruganti, Harsh (January 20, 2022). "Nina Morrison – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York". The Vetting Room. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Chuck Schumer Recommends 3 Progressive Women For Federal Judgeships". HuffPost. September 1, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "President Biden Names Eleventh Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ a b Raymond, Nate (June 8, 2022). "U.S. Senate confirms Innocence Project lawyer Morrison to be federal judge". Reuters.
  6. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. February 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Raymond, Nate (February 16, 2022). "Innocence Project lawyer, nominated to be judge, faces GOP attacks". Reuters. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "Republicans Blame Crime On An Innocence Project Lawyer Tapped For A Judgeship". HuffPost. February 17, 2022.
  10. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 10, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Nina Morrison to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York)". United States Senate. May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Nina Morrison, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York)". United States Senate. June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  13. ^ Nina Morrison at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  14. ^ "Nina Morrison and Carina Biggs". The New York Times. July 29, 2011. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  15. ^ "Alan B. Morrison Joins GW Law School as its First Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest and Public Service Law". George Washington University. April 28, 2009. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
2022–present 		Incumbent
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