Arenda L. Wright Allen

Arenda L. Wright Allen

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Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

Tenure

2011 - Present

Years in position

12

Education

Bachelor's

Kutztown State College, 1982

Law

North Carolina Central University School of Law, 1985

Personal

Birthplace

Philadelphia, Pa.

Arenda Lauretta Wright Allen is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She joined the court in 2011 after a nomination by President Barack Obama.

Early life and education

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wright Allen earned her bachelor's degree from Kutztown State College in 1982 and her J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law in 1985.

Military service

Allen served in the judge advocate general corps of the U.S. Navy from 1985 to 1990. She later served in the judge advocate general corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1992 to 2005.

Professional career

• 2011-Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• 2005-2011: Public defender's office, Eastern District of Virginia
• 1991-2005: Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Virginia
• 1990-1991: Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Virginia

Judicial Career

Eastern District of Virginia

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Arenda L. Wright Allen
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Progress
Confirmed 161 days after nomination.
ANominated: December 1, 2010
AABA Rating: Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: February 16, 2011
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: March 10, 2011
AConfirmed: May 11, 2011
AVote: 96-0
AReturned: December 22, 2010

On December 1, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Wright Allen to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Jerome Friedman. The American Bar Association rated Wright Allen Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified for the nomination. Under Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the standing rules of the Senate, Wright Allen's nomination was returned to the president on December 22, 2010. President Obama resubmitted the nomination on January 5, 2011. Hearings on her nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 16, 2011, and her nomination was reported on March 10, 2011. Wright Allen was confirmed on a recorded 96-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 11, 2011, and she received her commission the next day.

Noteworthy cases

Challenge to Virginia ban on same-sex marriage (2014)

See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Bostic v. Rainey, et al, 2:13-cv-00395-AWA-LRL)

On February 13, 2014, Judge Wright Allen held that Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. In her 41-page opinion, Wright Allen wrote that "[g]ay and lesbian individuals share the same capacity as heterosexual individuals to form, preserve and celebrate loving, intimate and lasting relationships ... [s]uch relationships are created through the exercise of sacred, personal choices -- choices, like the choices made by every other citizen, that must be free from unwarranted government interference." The ban was approved by 57% of voters in 2006.

See also

• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit

External links

• Judge Wright Allen's biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 2011-Present	Succeeded by -

Federal judges nominated by Barack Obama
Nominated	Federal judges nominated by Barack Obama