Leslie Joyce Abrams was nominated by President Barack Obama to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on March 11, 2014. Her Supreme Court cases came while she was in the solicitor generals office, where she was named acting principal deputy solicitor general. Three years later, Gardner learned that all of Zain's cases involving DNA were being reviewed after it was discovered that he had lied in hundreds of murder and rape cases and locked up innocent men by falsifying evidence and tampering with forensic work. But it would take 23 years for Gardner to finally be released, being denied hearing after hearing, and he spent years writing to advocacy groups and even President Barack Obama looking for help. As president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund -- a position once held by the late Justice Thurgood Marshall before he was nominated -- Ifill has been at the center of policy debates and pressure campaigns involving voting rights, police brutality and job discrimination. Jimmie Gardner was wrongfully convicted of assault and rape nearly three decades after an investigator produced falsified evidence by the way of fingerprint and DNA sample results that were not Jimmie's. The former minor league baseball player spent the better part of 23 years fruitlessly . U.S. President | clear: both; 'I then wrote to the Innocence Projects all over the US and even Germany. But Ive had a pleasant experience and I look forward to attracting more individuals that look like me to come to Chapman.. Brooke Staggs covers the environment for Southern California News Groups chain of 11 newspapers. Theres a moment Jimmie Gardner has rehearsed in his head for more than three decades. Many felt it was inappropriate for Gardner to rule on the case, a concern that was While the polls in Georgia officially closed at 7 p.m., the window of opportunity for Stacey. During his trial, both victims said that Gardner was not the man who raped them. Used with permission. U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner A federal judge on Monday evening sided with a voting rights organization seeking to prevent two counties from purging thousands of "targeted voters" from their voting rolls less than two weeks ahead of the state's highly consequential Senate runoff elections. color: white; The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Leslie Abrams Gardner, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Subscribe Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Bloomberg UK A weekly deep. } width: 43%; They argued, in part, that Fair Fight the voting rights group founded and chaired by Abrams was involved in similar litigation before the U.S. District Court in Georgia's Northern District, and the same lawyers represented Fair Fight and Majority Forward in the cases. Even though he knew of this discovery, Gardner would spend another 23 years in prison. .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { I have a pretty unrelenting view of justice, she said in a 2013 interview with NYU Law Magazine. How to run for office | width: 250px; margin-bottom: 0; He started sharing his story, with no idea the woman he was speaking to was a federal judge. Brooke joined the Orange County Register in January 2013, covering local communities, cannabis and politics before starting on the environment beat for SCNG in July 2022. Ballot measures, Who represents me? | Now the 51-year-old has found love with Georgia District Judge Leslie Abrams, and the pair plan to marry later this year. background-color: red; Gardner, 47, is another judge who would be making an unlikely leap from serving on a federal district court. Even though Gardners defense team was not allowed to view the lab results showing that the person who committed the rapes had a different blood type from Gardners, and even though the states stance was that the same person had committed both rapes, he was acquitted of the charges related to Ruckman (pdf) but convicted of rape (of Galati), assault (of Ferrell), battery, robbery and burglary because Zain said that Gardner was one of the few people on the planet who matched the DNA. Web shopping giant PAUSES construction at huge new HQ2 near DC as bosses continue with deepest ever job cuts, Scientists urge pregnant women to avoid using plastic bottles after study finds microplastics can enter the FOETUS, 'F***ing amateur hour': Democrats fume at Biden for siding with Republicans on DC crime bill - as AOC says he should push harder for capital to become its own state. Justice Leslie Abrams Gardner is speculated to be on President Biden's shortlist for the nation's . Gardner struggled to adjust to life in prison, as he lost the opportunity to watch his daughter, who was only three when he was incarcerated, grow up. Gardner plans to use his communications degree to continue sharing his story, shedding light on other wrongful conviction cases and inspiring people to keep fighting for justice. She also has an influential backer in Representative Jim Clyburn, the South Carolina Democrat whose endorsement of Biden in the 2020 presidential primary helped rescue his flailing campaign. background-color: #003388; Abrams interest could therefore be substantially affected by the outcome of this proceeding. margin-top: 1px; A century and a decade. She would bring another dimension of diversity to the Supreme Court as a former public defender. 'I'm very familiar with laws, and I got talking with Leslie, we were discussing for hours about judicial laws and different processes. If that happens, Bidens pick would be the third Black justice and the sixth woman in the courts history of more than 230 years. Neither Abrams nor Fair Fight were a party to the specific case before Abrams Gardner in the Middle District of Georgia in December 2020. .widget-row.Democratic { Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, the sister of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, found that the counties seemed to have improperly relied on unverified change-of-address data to. Learn more about a Bloomberg Law subscription. On the night of Stacey Abram's victory against Stacey Evans, Gardner and the candidate's younger sister were right by her side in Atlanta. 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The D.C. display: inline-block; display: block; United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, "Leslie Abrams Gardner, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia: Profile and Biography", "Stacey Abrams wins Democratic primary in Georgia. She would stand out as the first justice nominated in three decades with experience as a state supreme court justice. Three years later, in 1993, West Virginias Supreme Court of Appeals received complaints about Zain falsifying evidence. She is also a former assistant federal public defender in D.C. and clerked for several jurists including Breyer. But hes been impressed with the concrete steps the university is taking to improve its diversity and said he wants to support those efforts. I just try to be a good person, I try to treat people with respect.'. The Muscogee County Board of Elections determined that Russell's challenge was probably valid, and contacted those 4,033 "targeted voters" to inform them they could only cast provisional ballots, and would have to provide proof of residency. I was the only male there. I never gave up, Gardner said. Whatever was offered, I took it. Cochran was in prison for gang-related offenses and was part of the Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi white supremacist group. She also has experience working at the Supreme Court as a clerk to former Justice John Paul Stevens. Earlier in December 2020, Tommy Roberts a City Council member in Fitzgerald in Ben Hill County challenged the eligibility of 328 registered voters in the county. But Gardner was impressed with her accomplishments and more than a bit smitten. In January, 2020, he sat in the audience as his wife gave the keynote speech during the Fowler School of Laws annual Law Review Symposium. } Leslie Abrams Gardner, U.S. District Court, Middle District, Georgia President Barack Obama nominated Gardner in 2014, and she was approved unanimously by the Senate. Gardner wasn't incarcerated until years later when officers took DNA from him again during questioning, Gardner, is pictured above second from left at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex in 2002. 'We got together, it clicked, we know that God brought us together for a purpose. But in December she was nominated by Biden for the D.C. He was given an hour a day for recreation or education, during which he studied law and found an unlikely teacher in fellow inmate Marcus Cochran. } 'I had a lot of anger in my first five years, but I understood that I was in a life and death situation. from Brown University in 1997 and her J.D. Her husband was wrongly imprisoned for 26 years for a rape and robbery he didnt commit before getting exonerated. Leslie, 43, is the sister of Stacey Abrams, 44, who became the first black female gubernatorial nominee ever in the United States when she won the Democratic primary in Georgia on Tuesday and is hoping to make history in November at the midterm elections. During her tenure she argued a dozen cases before the Supreme Court on behalf of the government, according to her state supreme court bio. Interns wanted: Get paid to help ensure that every voter has unbiased election information. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney. She would be the oldest new justice since Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed at age 60 in 1993. .widget-row.Libertarian { 'I like going back to prisons and telling them not to give up. [1] She is the first female black federal judge in Georgia. Gardner is the sister of Stacey Abrams who has led the effort to register voters in the state. Gardner, pictured with Georgia Governor candidate Stacey Abrams, said he and Leslie's relationship has the support of their families, In 2015, when Leslie Abrams was being sworn in as a US District Judge in Georgia, her older sister Stacey posted a throwback photo of them together. But while the federal judge had vacated his convictions, West Virginia opted to retry Gardner on all charges. From October 2016 to October 2017, with support from family and advocates, he volunteered to share his story and to advocate for social justice reform everywhere he could. Leslie Joyce Abrams has had a distinguished legal career and I am honored to ask her to continue her public service on the federal bench. Gardner is several inches taller than the attacker, at 6 foot 3 inches, and points to his dark complexion. Play it now! background-color: #f9f9f9; Clay LandTilman E. Self IIILeslie Abrams Gardner, Hugh LawsonWillie SandsAshley Royal, Duross FitzpatrickWilbur OwensBascom Sine DeaverWilliam Josiah TilsonWilliam BootleAbraham CongerThomas Davis (Georgia)James Robert Elliott, Hugh LawsonDuross FitzpatrickWilbur OwensWillie SandsClay LandWilliam BootleThomas Davis (Georgia)James Robert Elliott, What's on my ballot? 'I'll keep fighting for injustice, wrongful convictions and for people who haven't got voices,' Gardner said. He played professionally for the next four years, working part-time jobs, taking college classes between seasons and getting to know his newborn daughter. All of those other 100-plus cases, theyve either died off or been brushed under the rug, he said. Here are some of the people whose names have been discussed as prime candidates for an open Supreme Court seat. padding-left: 10px; background-color: green; In 2012, he filed his own petition for relief in federal court, knowing full well that it would likely be denied since he technically hadnt exhausted his options in state court. At one particular gathering of black judges, he met Leslie Gardner. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement announcement gives President Joe Biden the chance to fulfill his campaign promise to put the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. } Her age -- she is the youngest of Bidens potential picks -- means she could easily serve for three decades or more on the high court. Leslie Abrams Gardner husband: Who is Jimmie Gardner? Leslie Abrams Gardner. Jackson was nominated by Obama to the federal district court in Washington, winning Senate confirmation in 2013. Gardner is the sister of Stacey Abrams who has led the effort to register voters in the state. [6] On February 15, Biden announced he would nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court."[8]. The judge, Leslie Abrams Gardner the sister of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a prominent ally of President-elect Joe Biden who has led voter registration efforts across the . Zain was fired in 1993 and indicted for fraud, according to the National Registry of Exonerations at the University of Michigan. Jackson, who grew up in Miami, graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and clerked for two lower court judges before working for Breyer during the Supreme Courts 1999-2000 term. .widget-row { Counties | Her sister, Stacey, could possibly upset the countrys political spectrum if Georgia voters select her as their governor in the upcoming November elections. Everything I went through was for me to become a better person and to help other people.'. I had a lot of hatred, but knew I had to channel that out of me,' Gardner said. To contact the reporters on this story:Kimberly Robinson in Arlington at [email protected];Greg Stohr in Washington at [email protected];Madi Alder in Arlington at [email protected], To contact the editors responsible for this story:Elizabeth Wasserman at [email protected];Seth Stern at [email protected]. Childs, 55, may have been considered a long shot given that no federal district judge has been directly elevated to the Supreme Court since 1923. The southern California native has traditional bona fides, including 12 Supreme Court arguments. from Yale Law School. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and played for a West Virginia farm team, the Charleston Wheelers, in the Minor League.