Madeline Clair Hughes Haikala (born November 4, 1964) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Madeline Haikala
Haikala in 2013
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
Assumed office
October 16, 2013
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byInge Prytz Johnson
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
In office
2012–2013
Personal details
Born
Madeline Clair Hughes

(1964-11-04) November 4, 1964 (age 60)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
EducationWilliams College (BA)
Tulane University (JD)

Biography

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Haikala was born Madeline Clair Hughes in 1964, in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1][2] She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from Williams College. She received her Juris Doctor in 1989 from Tulane University Law School, graduating Order of the Coif. She worked in private practice from 1989 until 2011, serving at the law firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC in Birmingham, Alabama, handling a broad range of commercial litigation at the trial and appellate levels, before state and federal courts. From 1998 to 2005, she taught Appellate Law at Cumberland School of Law as an adjunct professor. She served as a United States magistrate judge in the Northern District of Alabama from 2012 to 2013.[3][4]

Federal judicial service

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On May 9, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Haikala to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, to the seat vacated by Judge Inge Prytz Johnson, who assumed senior status on October 24, 2012.[3] She received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 19, 2013, and her nomination was reported to the floor of the Senate on July 18, 2013, by a voice vote.[5] The Senate confirmed her nomination on October 14, 2013, by a 90–0 vote.[6] She received her commission on October 16, 2013.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Judge throws out case against police officer charged in takedown of Indian grandfather". 14 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Nomination Questionnaire" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the United States District Court". whitehouse.gov. 9 May 2013 – via National Archives.
  4. ^ a b Madeline Haikala at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  5. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting - July 18, 2013" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  6. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Madeline Hughes Haikala, of Alabama, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama)". www.senate.gov.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
2013–present
Incumbent