Cornelia Pillard
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Cornelia Thayer Livingston Pillard (born March 4, 1961), known professionally as Nina Pillard, is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2013 as a U.S. circuit judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...
. Before becoming a judge, Pillard was a law professor at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
. Pillard served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Assistant to the
United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
. At the time of her confirmation to the federal bench, Pillard was a prominent
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
advocate in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, having argued nine cases and briefed more than 25 cases before the Court. Pillard's nomination to the D.C. Circuit, along with the nominations of Robert L. Wilkins and Patricia Millett, ultimately became central to the debate over the use of the
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
in the United States Senate, leading to the controversial use of the
nuclear option In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a Parliamentary procedure, legislative procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke clot ...
to bring it to the floor for a vote. She was confirmed by a 51–44 vote, with her detractors labeling her as one of the most liberal nominees to the federal bench in decades. Pillard has been compared to
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...
for her civil rights advocacy, and has been mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee.


Early life and education

Pillard was born on March 4, 1961, in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. Her father, Richard Pillard, was a professor of
psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...
at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
who was the first openly gay psychiatrist in the United States. After graduating from the
Commonwealth School Commonwealth School, often referred to simply as Commonwealth, is a private, co-educational high school of about 150 students and 35 faculty members located in the downtown Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is acc ...
in 1978, Pillard studied
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. She graduated in 1983 with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
, ''
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
''.Cornelia T.L. Pillard, Curriculum Vitae.
(reviewed May 2, 2013)
From 1983 to 1984, Pillard was a researcher and office assistant in the
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
office of the Asia bureau of ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
''. She then attended
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
, where she was an editor for the ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...
.'' She graduated in 1987 with a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
, ''magna cum laude''.


Professional career

Pillard began her legal career in 1987 as a
law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...
for Judge Louis H. Pollak of the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Philad ...
. Pollak was a former dean of both
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
and Penn Law Schools. After her clerkship, Pillard was a lawyer for the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...
, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, from 1988 to 1994. In 1994, Pillard joined the Office of the
Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
, where she briefed and argued civil and criminal cases on behalf of the federal government before the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
. She joined the tenure-track faculty at Georgetown Law in 1997. In 1998, Pillard was named Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
's
Office of Legal Counsel The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that supports the attorney general in their role as legal adviser to the president and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the atto ...
. That office provides authoritative legal advice to the President and all the Executive Branch agencies, including review of all executive orders and orders of the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
. Pillard returned to Georgetown Law in 2000, where she received tenure. Pillard has taught more than a dozen different courses and seminars, and frequently teaches the core
civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and regulations along with some standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or ca ...
and
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
courses. Pillard also served as faculty director of Georgetown Law's Supreme Court Institute, a public service program that provides free assistance to attorneys preparing for arguments before the Supreme Court on a first-come, first-served basis.Georgetown University Law Center
Supreme Court Institute
(reviewed May 2, 2013)
In the 2012 term, the program held
moot court Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In many countries, the phrase ...
s for counsel in 100% of cases argued before the Court.


Boards and committees

Pillard supports private settlement of legal disputes through negotiation, mediation and arbitration. She serves on the Executive Committee of the board of directors of the
American Arbitration Association The American Arbitration Association (AAA) is an organization focused in the field of alternative dispute resolution, one of several arbitration organizations that administers arbitration proceedings. Structured as a non-profit, the AAA also admin ...
, and has been a board member there since 2005. Pillard served as Chair and an active reader on an American Bar Association Reading Committee that evaluated all of the writings of Supreme Court nominee
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Samuel Alito Supreme Court ...
for the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. The committee found Alito "well qualified" to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.


Supreme Court practice

Pillard has argued nine cases and briefed more than twenty-five cases before the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
, making her one of the nation's most prominent Supreme Court advocates. Some of her landmark victories are now staples of law school textbooks. In the landmark case '' United States v. Virginia'' (1996), Pillard wrote the Solicitor General's brief challenging the men-only admissions policy of the
Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...
(VMI). In a 7-1 decision, the Court held that VMI's exclusion of women violated the
Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...
of the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
, and that the new, separate and different Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership did not remedy the violation. While a member of the Georgetown Law faculty, Pillard successfully defended the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) against constitutional challenge in another landmark case, '' Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs'' (2003). Pillard represented William Hibbs, a state employee who was fired when he sought to take unpaid leave to care for his injured wife under the FMLA. Pillard, together with the United States Justice Department during the administration of President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, which intervened to defend the law, argued that state employees should be able to rely on the FMLA. In a decision by then-Chief Justice Rehnquist, the Court ruled for Hibbs and upheld the FMLA's application to state employees as a valid exercise of Congress' constitutional powers. Representing the United States in '' Ornelas v. United States'' (1996), Pillard won a significant victory for law enforcement, leading to clearer legal guidance to federal, state, and local officials conducting searches and seizures. In an opinion by then-Chief Justice Rehnquist, the Court held that independent review of probable cause determinations by appellate courts was necessary to ensure the development and consistent application of search and seizure rules. In other noteworthy cases representing the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Pillard sought robust "qualified immunity" protection of law enforcement personnel against lawsuits, shielding officials from the burdens of litigation and liability for reasonable decisions even where, in hindsight, they turned out to be wrong. She also successfully argued that the U.S. Constitution reserves the jury right in criminal cases to defendants charged with serious offenses.


Federal judicial service

In May 2013, the ''New York Times'' and the ''Washington Post'' reported that Pillard was under consideration by the Obama administration to fill one of three vacancies on the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...
. On June 4, 2013, Obama nominated Pillard to serve as a United States Circuit Judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...
, to the seat vacated by Judge
Douglas H. Ginsburg Douglas Howard Ginsburg (born May 25, 1946) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a senior United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, U.S. Court of App ...
, who assumed senior status on October 14, 2011. Her nomination immediately became controversial. According to ''
ThinkProgress ''ThinkProgress'' was an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive news website that was active from 2005 to 2019. It was a project of the Center for American Progress#Center for American Progress Action Fund, Center for America ...
'', conservatives attacked her as an extremist and radical feminist, noting that a paper she had authored analogized compelled maternity to "conscription," in objecting to her confirmation. On September 19, 2013, her nomination was reported to the floor by the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...
by a 10–8 vote, the vote falling along party lines. On November 7, 2013, Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2 ...
moved to invoke
cloture Cloture (, ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. is ...
on Pillard's nomination, in an attempt to cut off a
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
from Republican senators. On November 12, 2013, the Senate rejected the motion to invoke cloture by a 56–41 vote, with 1 senator voted "present". After the Senate moved forward in November 2013 with a rules change eliminating the filibuster on federal appeals court nominees, the Senate on December 10, 2013, invoked cloture on Pillard’s nomination by a 56–42 vote. That paved the way for a final floor vote on Pillard's nomination. Shortly before 1 a.m. on December 12, 2013, the Senate confirmed Pillard by a 51–44 vote. On December 17, 2013, Pillard received her federal judicial commission.


Notable rulings

As a judge, Pillard extended the
exclusionary rule In the United States, the exclusionary rule is a legal rule, based on constitutional law, that prevents evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights from being used in a court of law. This may be conside ...
to require police to knock-and-announce when executing an
arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...
, over a dissent by Judge Karen L. Henderson. Judge Pillard joined Henderson when they denied a petition by Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri to disqualify his military judges. When in '' Meshal v. Higgenbotham'' (2016) Judges Janice Rogers Brown and
Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh (; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oct ...
threw out a claim by an American that he had been disappeared by the FBI in a Kenyan black site, Judge Pillard dissented, arguing the court should just create a new
implied cause of action A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a ...
. When Judge Pillard's panel found that the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...
did not violate the Constitution's Origination Clause in '' Sissel v. United States Department of Health & Human Services'' (2014), Judge Kavanaugh wrote a lengthy dissent from denial of an
en banc In law, an ''en banc'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...
rehearing.''Recent Cases: D.C. Circuit Reaffirms that Affordable Care Act Falls Outside Scope of the Origination Clause by Denying Petition for En Banc Review''
, 129 Harv. L. Rev. 2003 (2016).


Personal life

Pillard is married to Georgetown
law professor A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a legal practition ...
and current
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...
Legal Director David D. Cole and has two children, Sarah and Aidan Pillard.


Selected scholarly works

* * * * * *


See also

* Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates


References


External links

* *
Faculty Profile for Professor Nina PillardNina Pillard Discusses AT&T v. ConcepcionPillard on the Diane Rehm Show
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillard, Nina 1961 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges American legal scholars American women legal scholars Commonwealth School alumni Georgetown University Law Center faculty Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Lawyers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Living people People associated with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama Yale College alumni