Emily Clark Hewitt (born May 26, 1944) is an American lawyer and minister who served as a former judge and the chief judge of the

United States Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal courts, United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government. It ...

Early life and education

Hewitt was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. She graduated from the

Roland Park Country School Roland Park Country School (RPCS) is an independent all-girls college preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It serves girls from kindergarten through grade 12. It is located on Roland Avenue in the northern area of Baltim ...

in Baltimore and in 1966, she earned a

B.A. 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 degree ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. She received a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

degree from the

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

in New York City in studies focusing on religion and education, and was ordained to the diaconate of the Episcopal Church in 1972.

Career

Episcopal church and early career

Hewitt was one of the Philadelphia Eleven, the first eleven women ordained to the Episcopal priesthood on July 29, 1974. Hewitt served from 1973 to 1975 as assistant professor of religion and education at

Andover Newton Theological School Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...

Newton Centre, Massachusetts Newton Centre is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The main commercial center of Newton Centre is a triangular area surrounding the intersections of Beacon Street, Centre S ...

. She has also served as lecturer at the Union Theological Seminary and, from 1967 to 1969, as administrator of the Cornell/Hofstra Upward Bound Program at the Union Settlement House in East Harlem. She graduated with honors from

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 ...

in 1978, where she was a member of the

Harvard Legal Aid Bureau The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (HLAB) is the oldest Legal clinic, student-run legal services office in the United States, founded in 1913. The bureau is one of three honors societies at the law school, along with the ''Harvard Law Review'' and the Bo ...

. She also holds a

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is a doctorate in religious ministry. It often includes an original research component, and may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in ministry. It is categorized as an advanced doctoral de ...

degree from the

Chicago Theological Seminary The Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is a Christian ecumenical American seminary located in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of several seminaries historically affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It is the oldest institution of higher e ...

for studies focusing on

liberty of conscience Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by developing knowledge, concepts, theo ...

Law practice

Hewitt practiced from 1978 to 1993 with the Boston law firm Hill & Barlow. She was made a partner in 1985, and served as chair of Hill & Barlow's real estate department from 1987 to 1993. While with Hill & Barlow, Hewitt served on charitable, civic, and professional boards and committees and as a continuing education lecturer on real estate law.

Federal government work

Hewitt served as General Counsel of the

United States General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

from 1993 to 1998, overseeing the legal activities and responsibilities of the agency. She served as GSA's chief ethics official, as chief legal advisor to the Administrator and other GSA officials, and as a member of GSA's management committee. While at GSA, Hewitt served as a government member of the Administrative Conference of the United States and as a member of the President's Interagency Council on Women. She also served as a continuing education lecturer on procurement law reform, procurement integrity, alternative dispute resolution, and government law office management.

Claims court service

Hewitt was commissioned as a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

on October 22, 1998. In 2006, she was appointed by Chief Justice

John G. Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a moderate conservative judicial philosophy, though he is primarily an ...

to serve on the Financial Disclosure Committee of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial co ...

. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

designated Hewitt to serve as Chief Judge on March 11, 2009. She served as chief judge until President Obama designated Patricia E. Campbell-Smith to serve as Chief Judge on October 21, 2013, at which time Hewitt's term as chief judge and 15-year term as a judge of the Court ended.

Personal life

In addition to hundreds of legal opinions, Hewitt is the author or co-author of more than two dozen publications on legal and religious topics. Hewitt is an accomplished long distance race walker. She won a U.S. national race walking medal in 1987 and has won many national masters medals. She has walked more than a dozen marathons including the Boston, New York and United States Marine Corps Marathons. She is also an avid hiker of the National Park trails of the American West. Hewitt is married to Eleanor D. Acheson (born 1947),Deb Price,
Obama administration offers renewed hope to gay causes
, ''Rochester Democrat and Chronicle'' (April 20, 2009), p. 6C. who served as Assistant Attorney General of the United States during the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

References

Material in this article was copied from the website of the

, a publication of the United States government in the public domain.

External links

*
Official Congressional Directory: 113th Congress
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Emily Clark 1944 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American judges 20th-century American Episcopal priests 21st-century American Episcopal priests Andover Newton Theological School faculty Chicago Theological Seminary alumni Cornell University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Federal Claims Lawyers from Baltimore LGBTQ Anglican clergy LGBTQ appointed officials in the United States LGBTQ judges American LGBTQ lawyers LGBTQ people from Maryland United States Article I federal judges appointed by Bill Clinton Union Theological Seminary alumni Union Theological Seminary faculty Women Anglican clergy 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people