Reggie Barnett Walton (born February 8, 1949) is a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

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 Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

. He is a former presiding judge of the

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants ag ...

Early life and education

Walton won a football scholarship to get 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 ...

degree from

West Virginia State College West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute. It is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges a ...

in 1971, and then 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

Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northw ...

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in 1974. Walton is a member of the

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity.

Career

Walton served as an associate judge of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, commonly referred to as DC Superior Court, is the trial court for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It hears cases involving Criminal justice, criminal, Civil law (common law), civi ...

from 1981 to 1989 and from 1991 to 2001. He also served as associate director of the

Office of National Drug Control Policy The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The director of the ONDCP, colloquially known as the drug czar, heads the office. "Drug czar" was a term first used ...

Federal judicial service

In 2001, he was nominated to the federal bench by 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 ...

, and subsequently confirmed by 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 September 21, 2001. He received his commission on September 24, 2001. In 2004, Bush appointed him to chair the

National Prison Rape Elimination Commission The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) was a U.S. bipartisan panel established by the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act. The commission was charged with studying sexual assaults in U.S. jails and prisons and presenting a report ...

, investigating ways to curb

prison rape Prison rape or jail rape is sexual assault of people while they are incarcerated. The phrase is commonly used to describe rape of inmates by other inmates. It is a significant, if controversial, part of what is studied under the wider concept ...

. In May 2007, Chief Justice

John 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 conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...

appointed him to a seat on the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a United States federal courts, U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests ...

. His term on the FISA Court ended May 18, 2014. He assumed senior status on December 31, 2015. During his FISC tenure, Judge Walton was "exceptionally concerned" about the NSA's "flagrant violation" of the court orders regarding privacy, and he accused the agency of "misinterpretations." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported, "fellow judges and lawyers who appear before him say Walton's decisions do not appear to be guided by politics but by a tough-on-crime mentality." Walton is known by local defense attorneys as a "long ball hitter" – a judge willing to impose long sentences in order to deter future crimes. In fall 2005, the judge was driving his wife and daughter to the airport for a vacation when he came across an assailant attacking a cab driver on the side of the road. Walton tackled the assailant and subdued him until police arrived. The D.C. police spokesperson noted in response, "God bless Judge Walton. I surely wouldn't want to mess with him.""Libby Jurist's Career Built on Toughness"
''The Washington Post'', June 5, 2007.

Notable cases

''United States v. Libby''

Walton also presided over the trial of Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

's former chief of staff,

Scooter Libby I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (first name generally given as Irv, Irve or Irving; born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer and former chief of staff to Vice President of the United States, Vice President Dick Cheney known for his high-profile indic ...

. On March 6, 2007, the jury convicted Libby of four of the five counts with which he was charged: two counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice, and one of

making false statements Making false statements () is the common name for the United States federal process crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or ...

to federal investigators."Diary of the Leak Trial"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', accessed June 23, 2007. On June 5, 2007, Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in federal prison and a fine of US$250,000, and, subsequently, he ordered that Libby report to jail without bail pending any appeals.Lewis, Neil A.; Stout, David
"Judge Won't Delay Libby Prison Term"
''The New York Times'', June 14, 2007, accessed June 16, 2007. On June 20, 2007, Libby appealed Walton's ruling in federal appeals court.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

"Libby Appeals Sentencing Ruling"
''The New York Times'', June 20, 2007, accessed June 20, 2007. The next day, Walton filed a 30-page expanded ruling, in which he explained his decision to deny Libby bail in more detail.Gerstein, Josh
"Libby Judge Files Expanded Opinion:
Details Decision Not Allowing Libby to Remain Free", ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American conservative news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as we ...

'', June 22, 2007, accessed June 22, 2007. Walton received several threatening letters after pronouncing sentence on Libby.

Rocket propellant case

Walton was the presiding judge in ''

Tripoli Rocketry Association The Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) is an international organization and one of the two major organizing bodies for high power rocketry in the United States. History Tripoli Rocketry Association was founded in 1964 in the Pittsburgh, Penns ...

, Inc. and

National Association of Rocketry The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) is a non-profit tax-exempt scientific organization dedicated to consumer safety, youth education, and the advancement of technology in the hobby of sport rocketry in the United States. Founded in 1957, t ...

v. United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives'', a long-running case brought by the two largest hobby rocketry organizations, which challenged the inclusion of certain types of solid fuel rocket propellant on the list of "explosives" regulated by the

ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

. On March 16, 2009, Walton ruled in favor of the rocketry organizations.

''United States v. Roger Clemens''

On August 30, 2010, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' reported that Walton arraigned former major-league pitcher

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and also played ...

on charges of lying to Congress (three counts of making false statements, two counts of

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

, and one count of obstruction of Congress) about the use of

performance-enhancing substance Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve ath ...

s. Pre-trial prosecutors brought a motion of conflict of interest against defense attorney

Rusty Hardin Russell "Rusty" Hardin Jr. (born October 6, 1941) is an American attorney and head of the Houston law firm Rusty Hardin & Associates, P.C. which he established in 1996. Early life Hardin attended a private military academy in Chattanooga, Tennes ...

for having briefly represented

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

, who was an important witness for the government.Thomas, Katie
"Clemens's Co-Counsel to Question Pettitte"
''The New York Times''. February 2, 2011. On July 14, 2011, Walton declared a mistrial over inadmissible evidence shown to jurors. The judge said Clemens could not be assured a fair trial after prosecutors showed jurors evidence against his orders in the second day of testimony. Following the mistrial, the US Attorneys Office brought Clemens to trial once more for perjury. On June 18, 2012, Judge Walton accepted the jury's unanimous verdict of acquittal.

Whitewater

On October 4, 2016, Walton rejected the release of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

criminal indictment drafts prosecutors prepared, but never issued, during the Whitewater investigation in the 1990s. He ruled that Clinton had a "substantial privacy interest" when he rejected a FOIA lawsuit filed by

Judicial Watch Judicial Watch (JW) is an American conservative activist group that files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits to investigate claimed misconduct by government officials. Founded in 1994, Judicial Watch has primarily targeted Democrat ...

''Mohammon v. Bush''

Walton presided over '' Mohammon v. Bush'', a set of amalgamated

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

petitions, submitted on behalf of

Guantanamo captives The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...

''Hatfill v. John Ashcroft et al.''

Walton presided over the lawsuit that

Steven Hatfill Steven Jay Hatfill (born October 24, 1953) is an American pathologist and biological weapons expert. He is a special advisor to the second Trump administration on the subject of pandemic preparedness. In 2020, he became a coronavirus advisor ...

filed against former US Attorney General

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, Lobbying, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the 79th United States attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. A Republican Party (United States), R ...

. Ashcroft publicly described Hatfill as a "

Person of interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

" in the FBI's investigations into the

2001 anthrax attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "United States, America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after th ...

. On March 30, 2007, Walton issued an order warning Hatfill that he may lose his civil lawsuit over the leaks if he did not compel journalists to name their sources and giving Hatfill until April 16, 2007, to decide whether to do so.Gerstein, Josh
"Judge Urges Hatfill To Compel Outing of Sources"
, ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...

'', April 4, 2007, accessed June 23, 2007. Hatfill's lawyers complied with the order, as reported on April 18 by Gerstein, who warns that a "free press battle looms," as

The reporters in jeopardy now are expected to defy Hatfill's subpoenas and any court order to name their sources. ... one critical issue will be whether Judge Walton imposes fines on the news organizations involved. ... A First Amendment battle could possibly be avoided: The government and Dr. Hatfill's lawyers asked Walton to name a mediator to explore a possible settlement of the case. ... No one has been charged in the anthrax attacks, which killed at least five people.Josh Gerstein
"Free Press Battle Looms in Hatfill Case"
, ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...
'', April 18, 2007, accessed June 23, 2007.

Guantanamo captives' habeas petitions

On August 21, 2009,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

reported that Walton issued a ruling about "

hearsay evidence Hearsay, in a legal forum, is an out-of-court statement which is being offered in court for the truth of what was asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmissible (the "hearsay evidence rule") unless an exception to the hearsay rule ap ...

" that applied to all the Guantanamo detainees' habeas petitions before him. Much of the evidence the Department of Justice (DOJ) presented in the habeas petitions was hearsay evidence. Walton wrote:

Mueller Report redactions

On August 5, 2019,

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

reported that while hearing arguments regarding lawsuits by

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

and the nonprofit

Electronic Privacy Information Center The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is an independent nonprofit research center established in 1994 to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age. Based in Washington, D.C., their mission i ...

, as they sought to reveal the approximately 1,000 redacted items in the publicly-released edition of former special counsel Robert Mueller's report, Walton indicated that he would review the redactions before determining whether to make them public. On March 5, 2020, Walton described Attorney General William Barr's public statements about the Mueller report as "misleading," and said that Barr's representations regarding DOJ redactions from the report could not be credited. He directed the DOJ to submit the unredacted version of the Mueller Report to the Court for in camera review. On October 6, 2020, President Trump, referencing the Mueller report, tweeted "I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax”. In response to the President's statement, BuzzFeed requested an unredacted version of the report; however, BuzzFeed's request for an unredacted report was denied by the DOJ. The DOJ told Walton that “the President's statements on Twitter were not self-executing declassification orders...” To clear up the position of the President, Walton ordered a continuance until October 21, 2020 so, “I can get something from White House counsel saying that they conferred with the president, and the president, in fact, did not intend to declassify the information...”

''United States v. Bergdahl''

On July 25, 2023, the

reported that Judge Walton vacated the sentence due to Judge Jeffery Nance's failure to report an application to the executive branch as an immigration judge; however, Judge Walton rejected the defense's claim of undue command influence due to Mr.

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 ...

's comments during his campaign trail in 2016. Barakat, Matthew,

', Associated Press, July 25, 2023.

References

External links

*
Official Biography at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Reggie 1949 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers African-American judges Assistant United States attorneys Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Judges presiding over Guantanamo habeas petitions Lawyers from Philadelphia Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Office of National Drug Control Policy officials People from Donora, Pennsylvania United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush Washington College of Law alumni West Virginia State University alumni