Sarah Geraghty
{{Short description|American judge (born 1974)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Sarah Geraghty
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| image = Sarah Geraghty (Judge) (cropped).jpg
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| office = Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
| term_start = April 8, 2022
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| appointer = Joe Biden
| predecessor = Amy Totenberg
| successor =
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Sarah Elisabeth Geraghty
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1974}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| education = Northwestern University (BA)
University of Michigan (MSW, JD)
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Sarah Elisabeth Geraghty (born 1974){{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Geraghty%20SJQ%20Public%20Final.pdf|title=Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|accessdate=November 30, 2021}} is an American lawyer from Georgia who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She previously was senior counsel for the Southern Center for Human Rights.
Education
Geraghty received her Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University in 1996, her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan School of Social Work in 1998 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1999.{{Cite press release |title=President Biden Names Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees |date=September 30, 2021 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/30/president-biden-names-eighth-round-of-judicial-nominees/ |access-date=September 30, 2021}} {{PD-notice}}
Legal career
Geraghty served as a law clerk for Judge James Zagel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2000 to 2002. From 2002 to 2003, she was a staff attorney with the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York. From 2003 to 2022, she was with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta and from 2015 to 2020 served as managing attorney of the Impact Litigation Unit.
Federal judicial service
On September 30, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Geraghty to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. President Biden nominated Geraghty to the seat vacated by Judge Amy Totenberg, who assumed senior status on April 3, 2021.{{Cite press release |title=Nominations Sent to the Senate |date=September 30, 2021|publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/30/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-37/}} {{PD-notice}} On December 1, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.{{Cite web |title=Nominations |date=December 1, 2021|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/11/24/2021/nominations}} On January 3, 2022, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate;{{Cite web |date=January 3, 2022 |title=PN1210 - Nomination of Sarah Elisabeth Geraghty for The Judiciary, 117th Congress (2021–2022) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/1210 |access-date=January 4, 2022 |website=www.congress.gov}} she was later renominated the same day.{{Cite press release |title=Nominations Sent to the Senate |date=January 3, 2022 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/03/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-53/}} {{PD-notice}} On January 20, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/EBM%20Results%201.20.222.pdf|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 20, 2022|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|accessdate=January 20, 2022}} On March 16, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 49–46 vote.{{Cite web|date=March 16, 2022|title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Sarah Elizabeth Geraghty to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia)|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1172/vote_117_2_00089.htm|access-date=March 17, 2022|website=United States Senate}} On March 31, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 52–48 vote.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1172/vote_117_2_00124.htm|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation: Sarah Elizabeth Geraghty to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia)|date=March 31, 2022|website=United States Senate|access-date=March 31, 2022}} She received her judicial commission on April 8, 2022.{{FJC Bio|nid=11732406}}
= Notable rulings =
On August 21, 2023, she blocked a Georgia law banning hormone therapy for transgender minors,{{Cite news|date=August 21, 2023|title=Judge partially blocks Georgia ban on hormone therapy for transgender minors|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna101024|website=NBC News|access-date=June 18, 2024}}{{Cite news|title=Judge blocks Georgia law banning hormone therapy for transgender minors|url=https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-ban-hormone-therapy-transgender-children-blocked.amp|website=fox5atlanta.com|access-date=June 18, 2024}} but the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned her ruling, which prompted her to allow the ban to be enforced on September 5, 2023.{{Cite news|date=September 5, 2023|title=Georgia can resume enforcing ban on hormone therapy for trans youths, judge says|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna103546|website=NBC News|access-date=June 18, 2024}}{{Cite news|date=September 6, 2023|last=Pazanowski|first=Mary Anne|title=Georgia Gets Go-Ahead to Enforce Gender-Affirming Care Ban|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/georgia-gets-go-ahead-to-enforce-gender-affirming-care-ban|website=Bloomberg Law|access-date=June 18, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{FJC Bio|nid=11732406}}
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{{s-bef|before=Amy Totenberg}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia}}|years=2022–present}}
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{{United States 11th Circuit district judges}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geraghty, Sarah Elisabeth}}
Category:20th-century American women lawyers
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American women lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American women judges
Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers
Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Category:Northwestern University alumni
Category:United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden
Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni
Category:University of Michigan School of Social Work alumni