Deborah Boardman

Boardman was born in 1974 in Silver Spring, Maryland, and grew up in Frederick, Maryland.{{cite web|url=https://www.thatcherlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/1300386/2020/06/Judge_Boardman_Interview.pdf|title=The Scales of Justice - Inspiration for a Balanced Life|publisher=Thatcher Law|work=Federal Bar Association, Maryland Chapter|accessdate=March 31, 2021}} She has been described as being of Palestinian descent on her mother's side.{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2021 |title=Women of diverse backgrounds dominate Biden's first slate of judicial nominees |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/03/30/Women-of-diverse-backgrounds-dominate-Biden-s-first-slate-of-judicial-nominees |access-date=March 30, 2021 |website=Al Arabiya English |language=en}} She graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts. From 1996 to 1997, Boardman was a Fulbright Scholar in Amman, Jordan. She then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was an editor of the Virginia Law Review. She graduated in 2000 with a Juris Doctor.[https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/30/president-biden-announces-intent-to-nominate-11-judicial-candidates/ "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate 11 Judicial Candidates", White House, March 30, 2021] {{PD-notice}}

From 2000 to 2001, Boardman was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. From 2001 to 2008, she worked as an associate at Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells) in Washington, D.C., where she was selected to serve as the senior associate in the pro bono department. From 2008 to 2019, she served at the Federal Public Defender's Office for the District of Maryland, including four years as the first assistant federal public defender.

On September 23, 2019, Boardman was selected to be a United States magistrate judge of the District of Maryland. She was sworn into office on September 25.{{Cite press release|title=Appointment of Deborah L. Boardman as United States Magistrate Judge|date=September 23, 2019|publisher=United States District Court for the District of Maryland|url=https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/news/appointment-deborah-l-boardman-united-states-magistrate-judge-2019-09-23t000000|access-date=March 30, 2021}} Her service as a magistrate judge was terminated when she was sworn in as a district court judge.{{FJC Bio|nid=10300021|inline=yes}}

On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Boardman to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, to the seat vacated by Judge Richard D. Bennett, who had announced his intent to assume senior status upon the confirmation of his successor.[https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/19/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-11/ "Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, April 19, 2021] On April 19, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On May 12, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/05/05/2021/nominations United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for May 12, 2021] On June 10, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote, with Senator Lindsey Graham voting "present".[https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Results%20of%20Executive%20Business%20Meeting%20June%2010,%202021.pdf Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 10, 2021, Senate Judiciary Committee] On June 23, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–48 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00247.htm|title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Deborah L. Boardman to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland)|date=June 23, 2021|website=United States Senate|access-date=June 23, 2021}} Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 52–48 vote.{{Cite web|url= https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00248.htm|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation: Deborah L. Boardman, of Maryland, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland)|date=June 23, 2021|website=United States Senate|access-date=June 23, 2021}} She received her judicial commission on June 25 and was sworn in on July 1, 2021.{{Cite press release|title=Swearing-In of Deborah L. Boardman as United States District Judge|date=July 1, 2021|publisher=United States District Court for the District of Maryland|url=https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/news/swearing-deborah-l-boardman-united-states-district-judge-2021-07-01t000000|access-date=August 10, 2021}}

{{see also|Mahmoud v. Taylor}}

On August 24, 2023, Boardman denied a request for a preliminary injunction seeking to reinstate a Montgomery County School Board policy that allowed parents to remove their children from lessons involving books featuring LGBTQ characters.{{cite web |last1=Shapero |first1=Julia |title=Judge rejects Maryland parents' motion to keep kids out of lessons with LGBTQ books |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4171618-judge-rejects-maryland-parents-motion-to-keep-kids-out-of-lessons-with-lgbtq-books/ |website=The Hill |date=August 25, 2023}} Plaintiffs claimed exposure to these books contradicted "their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage, human sexuality, and gender" and that the lack of an opt-out policy violated their children’s First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. Boardman reasoned that "mere exposure in public school to ideas that contradict religious beliefs does not burden the religious exercise of students or parents".{{cite web |title=Tamer Mahmoud v. Monifa McKnight - Case No. 8:23-cv-01380 |url=https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.537103/gov.uscourts.mdd.537103.59.0.pdf |website=United States District Court for the District of Maryland |date=August 24, 2023}} The Fourth Circuit affirmed her decision by a 2–1 vote on May 14, 2024.{{cite web |last1=Dodson |first1=Joe |title=Fourth Circuit denies parents' opt-out request for LGBTQ-inclusive books in Maryland elementary schools |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/fourth-circuit-denies-parents-opt-out-request-for-lgbtq-inclusive-books-in-maryland-elementary-schools/ |website=Courthouse News Service |date=May 14, 2024}} The case is pending before the Supreme Court after the Court granted certiorari on January 17, 2025.{{cite web |last1=Howe |first1=Amy |title=Justices take up Maryland parents' challenge to LGBTQ books in schools |url=https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/01/justices-take-up-maryland-parents-challenge-to-lgbtq-books-in-schools/ |website=SCOTUSblog |date=January 17, 2025}}

On August 19, 2024, Boardman ruled in favor of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, which challenged a biological opinion issued by National Marine Fisheries Service in 2020 under the Trump administration. She found the agency violated the Endangered Species Act and the Administrative Procedures Act by underestimating risks and failing to implement adequate mitigation measures for the effects of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico on protected species, including the Rice's whale.{{cite web |last1=Raymond |first1=Nate |title=US must do more to protect species from Gulf of Mexico drilling |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-must-do-more-protect-species-gulf-mexico-drilling-judge-2024-08-20/ |website=Reuters |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240909134411/https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-must-do-more-protect-species-gulf-mexico-drilling-judge-2024-08-20/#selection-1439.5-1439.43 |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |date=August 20, 2024}} Various oil and gas companies denounced the decision, as they would have to halt all operations in the Gulf of Mexico.{{cite web |title=Oil and gas groups angry over federal judge's ruling against Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations |url=https://www.okenergytoday.com/2024/09/oil-and-gas-groups-angry-over-federal-judges-ruling-against-gulf-of-mexico-oil-and-gas-operations/ |website=OK Energy Today |date=September 11, 2024}}

On February 5, 2025, Boardman became the first district judge in the nation to grant a preliminary injunction, blocking President Trump's Executive Order 14160—which aimed to end birthright citizenship in the United States—from taking effect on February 19. The case was brought by five pregnant undocumented women and two immigrant rights organizations.{{cite web |last1=Martínez-Beltrán |first1=Sergio |title=Maryland federal judge blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/05/nx-s1-5288083/maryland-federal-judge-blocks-trumps-birthright-citizenship-order |website=NPR |date=February 5, 2025}}{{cite web |title=CASA, Inc v. Donald J. Trump - Case No. 8:25-cv-00201 - Granting PI |url=https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.574698/gov.uscourts.mdd.574698.65.0_1.pdf |date=February 5, 2025}} The next day, Judge John C. Coughenour issued a similar preliminary injunction in a case filed by the State of Washington challenging the same executive order.{{cite web |last1=Gutman |first1=David |title=Judge in Seattle accuses Trump of trying to change the Constitution |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/judge-in-seattle-continues-block-on-trump-birthright-citizenship-order/ |website=The Seattle Times |date=February 6, 2025}}

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• {{FJC Bio|nid=10300021}}
• {{Ballotpedia|Deborah_Boardman|Deborah Boardman}}

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{{United States 4th Circuit district judges}}

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Category:1974 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American women lawyers

Category:21st-century American lawyers

Category:21st-century American women judges

Category:American people of Palestinian descent

Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Category:Lawyers from Silver Spring, Maryland

Category:People associated with Hogan Lovells

Category:Public defenders

Category:United States magistrate judges

Category:United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden

Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni

Category:Villanova University alumni