Jean-Paul "J. P." Boulee (born January 31, 1971) is a

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 Northern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions. Appeals from case ...

Education

Boulee earned his

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, from

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

, where he participated in

Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

and was the Distinguished Military Graduate, and his

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 ...

, cum laude, from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law ...

Legal career

Upon graduation from law school, Boulee served 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 ...

to Judge Orinda Dale Evans of the

. Boulee then served as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers ("judge advocates"), who provide legal service ...

, where he tried dozens of cases as both a prosecutor and defense attorney. Boulee then became a partner in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

office of

Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm based in Washington, D.C. As of 2023, it is one of the largest law firms in the United States, with 2,302 attorneys, and among the highest-grossing in the world with revenues of $2.5 billion. Foun ...

, where he was a member of the Corporate Criminal Investigations and Business and Tort Litigation practice groups, and worked there until becoming a state judge.

State court service

Boulee served as a judge of the

Dekalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

, where he founded the DeKalb County Veterans Treatment Court and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia's Judicial Procedure and Administration/Uniform Rules Committee. He was appointed to the court on May 12, 2015, by Governor

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American politician and former lawyer who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Deal served ...

; he replaced Judge

Cynthia J. Becker Cynthia Becker Mello (born February 26, 1957) is a former Georgia Superior Court Judge on the DeKalb Superior Court, Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit, from 2000 until March 1, 2015. She presided over several high-profile cases, including the crim ...

who retired in March 2015. His state court service ended in 2019 upon his elevation to the federal bench.

Federal judicial service

On August 27, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intent to nominate Boulee to serve as a

of the

. Upon the announcement of his nomination, both Georgia Senators

Johnny Isakson John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 until his resignation in 2019 following health concerns. A member of the Republi ...

and

David Perdue David Alfred Perdue Jr. (born December 10, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman serving as the List of ambassadors of the United States to China, United States ambassador to China since 2025. A member of the Republican Pa ...

voiced their support. On August 28, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge William S. Duffey Jr., who retired on July 1, 2018. On November 13, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before 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 ...

. On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Boulee for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 22–0 vote. On June 11, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 84–12 vote. On June 12, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by an 85–11 vote. He received his judicial commission on June 14, 2019.

Electoral history

;2016

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulee, Jean-Paul 1971 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Jones Day people United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia People from Kankakee, Illinois Public defenders Superior court judges in the United States United States Army officers United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump University of Georgia School of Law alumni Washington and Lee University alumni American military prosecutors