George Jarrod Hazel (born March 19, 1975) is an American lawyer who is a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Maryland The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken ...

. He previously served as the chief deputy state's attorney for

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 ...

Early life and education

Born 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 ...

, Hazel received 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 ...

''cum laude'', from

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

in 1996. He received 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 ...

from the

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

in 1999.

Career

He began his legal career as an associate at the law firm of

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP ( ) is an American law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1931, it employs approximately 1,100 attorneys and reported annual revenues of over $1.8 billion, ranking it within''The American Lawyer'' AmLaw 10 ...

, in

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 1999 to 2004. He served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

in the

District of Columbia 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, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, from 2005 to 2008 and in the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland, from 2008 to 2010. From 2011 until his confirmation as a federal judge in 2014, he served as chief deputy state's attorney for

Federal judicial service

On September 25, 2013, 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 ...

nominated Hazel to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, to the seat vacated by Judge Alexander Williams Jr., who assumed senior status on May 8, 2013. On January 16, 2014, his nomination was reported out of committee. On May 1, 2014, the Senate invoked

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 Hazel’s nomination by a 55–42 vote. Later that same day, Hazel was confirmed by a 95–0 vote. He received his judicial commission on May 2, 2014. Upon his swearing in, Hazel was told he was the youngest United States district judge. On December 7, 2022, Judge Hazel announced his intention to resign as a United States District Judge, effective February 24, 2023, and to return to private practice. He resigned from the bench on February 24, 2023. He is now a partner at

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm has more than 1,900 attorneys and 1,000 staff in 21 offices across the world, including North America, Europe, ...

Notable rulings

*In April 2019, Hazel ruled against Maryland plaintiffs in a case challenging the

Commerce Department The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business and governmental decision making, establishing industrial standards, catalyzing econo ...

's intent to include a question about citizenship on census forms. With two other judges, he had found that the Trump administration had violated administrative law with its intent to add the question to 2020 United States Census. However in formulating that decision, Hazel did not find sufficient evidence to support claims that the government had intentionally moved to include the question specifically in order to discriminate against immigrants and non-white minorities by its inclusion, nor did he agree that evidence before the court proved that it was an element of a conspiracy violate the constitutional rights of noncitizens. The panel's decision was appealed, but plaintiffs had subsequently uncovered more direct evidence of the existence of such a strategy found on a computer belonging to and in the files of

Thomas Hofeller Thomas Brooks Hofeller (April 14, 1943 – August 16, 2018) was a Republican political strategist primarily known for his involvement in gerrymandering electoral district maps favorable for Republicans. David Daley of ''The New Yorker'' referred ...

, a recently deceased Republican consultant. Given that, they asked Hazel to reconsider his earlier ruling. On June 18, Hazel acknowledged that the request to reopen the issue had merit, saying their evidence "raises a substantial issue" in the case, that inclusion would favor Republicans and whites over minorities. This case is concurrent to '' Department of Commerce v. New York''..

References

External links