Samantha Dowd Elliott (born 1975) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

who is a

federal district judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the United States Constitution, Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the Chief ...

of the

U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire The United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire (in case citations, D.N.H.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of New Hampshire. The Warren B. Rudman U.S. Co ...

Education

Elliott 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 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 ...

'', from

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

in 1997 and 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

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 2006.

Career

From 2006 until 2021, Elliott was a partner and vice president at Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, P.C., in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

. While at the law firm, she served as president from 2015 to 2020 and as a hiring partner from 2014 to 2019. She has been a member of New Hampshire Legal Assistance and the Legal Advice Referral Center. In June 2021, she became co-chair of the founding board of directors for 603 Legal Aid, an entity created by merging two other statewide legal aid groups.

Federal judicial service

On September 30, 2021, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

nominated Elliott to serve as a

of the

. Biden nominated Elliott to the seat vacated by Judge

Paul Barbadoro Paul James Barbadoro (born June 4, 1955) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. In July 2016, he was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts as the chair of the executive committ ...

, who assumed senior status on March 1, 2021. On November 3, 2021, a hearing on her 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 December 2, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–7 vote. On December 14, 2021, 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 ...

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 her nomination by a 59–40 vote. On December 15, 2021, she was confirmed by a 62–37 vote. She received her judicial commission on December 21, 2021. She was sworn into office on December 22, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Samantha D. 1975 births Living people 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges Colgate University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire New Hampshire lawyers Lawyers from Orange, New Jersey United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden