Emily Michele Coody Marks (born March 6, 1973) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Emily C. Marks | |
|---|---|
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| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama | |
| Assumed office January 31, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | William Keith Watkins |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama | |
| Assumed office August 3, 2018 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Myron H. Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Emily Michele Coody[1] March 6, 1973 Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S. |
| Education | Spring Hill College (BA) University of Alabama (JD) |
Biography
editMarks was born on March 6, 1973, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[2] She earned her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Spring Hill College, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law, where she served as chair of the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board and as a senior editor of the University of Alabama Law & Psychology Review.
Marks was a partner in the Montgomery, Alabama, office of Ball, Ball, Matthews & Novak, P.A., where she practiced from 1998, when she joined the firm as an associate, to 2018, when she became a judge. She specialized in labor and employment law, civil rights law, and appellate practice, and routinely lectured on these topics before employers and other members of the bar.[3]
Federal judicial service
editOn September 7, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Marks to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, to the seat vacated by Judge Myron Herbert Thompson, who assumed senior status on August 22, 2013.[4] On October 17, 2017, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[5] On November 9, 2017, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[6]
On January 3, 2018, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[7] On January 5, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to renominate Marks to a federal judgeship.[8] On January 8, 2018, her renomination was sent to the Senate.[9] On January 18, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 17–4 vote.[10] On August 1, 2018, her nomination was confirmed by voice vote.[11] She received her judicial commission on August 3, 2018. She became Chief Judge on January 31, 2019, after William Keith Watkins assumed senior status.[12]
In September 2021, The Wall Street Journal published an investigation into 131 federal judges who were alleged to have broken the law by presiding over cases in which they had a financial interest. In August 2018, Marks purchased stock in Wells Fargo Bank two weeks after she was assigned a case in which plaintiff-homeowners sued Wells Fargo for wrongful foreclosure on their home. She did not disclose her stock purchases. Marks subsequently dismissed the lawsuit against Wells Fargo on a pre-trial motion.[13]
In October 2022, Marks invoked qualified immunity to deny the family of a cancer patient the right to sue the policeman who killed him. The patient had acted aggressive and erratic after brain surgery. The family called the police for help. A neighbor, also a policeman, intervened and fired six shots, hitting the unarmed victim five times.[14]
Memberships
editShe has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2017.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Emily Coody Marks" (PDF).
- ^ "Lawyer Central profile". Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventh Wave of Judicial Candidates – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
- ^ "Eight Nominations Sent to the Senate Today – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
- ^ "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov. October 17, 2017.
- ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – November 9, 2017, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
- ^ "Congress.gov | Library of Congress". www.congress.gov.
- ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Renomination of 21 Judicial Nominees – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
- ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate Today – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov.
- ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
- ^ "PN1417 — Emily Coody Marks — The Judiciary". United States Senate. January 8, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- ^ Emily C. Marks at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Palazzolo, James V. Grimaldi, Coulter Jones and Joe (September 28, 2021). "131 Federal Judges Broke the Law by Hearing Cases Where They Had a Financial Interest". Wall Street Journal – via www.wsj.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Remkus, Ashley (October 6, 2022). "Alabama policeman can't be sued for shooting and killing neighbor, judge rules" – via www.al.com/.
External links
edit- Emily C. Marks at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.