How to run for office | To make a donation to Gardner's House, please email admin@jcgardnerspeaks.com. Her work has triggered FBI investigations, landed her appearances on national TV and radio outlets, and helped her win some of the top journalism awards in the western United States. Gardner plans to use his communications degree to continue sharing his story, shedding light on other wrongful conviction cases and inspiring people to keep fighting for justice. Like other potential candidates, she has an Ivy League background. [10] She received her judicial commission on November 20, 2014.[5]. Leslie Abrams Gardner, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Subscribe Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Bloomberg UK A weekly deep. The pair got married in November 2018, and he said, Its just been wonderful ever since. Police interviewed all of the black players on the Charleston Wheelers, including Gardner, as part of their investigation. Gardner wasn't incarcerated until years later when officers took DNA from him again during questioning, Gardner, is pictured above second from left at the Mount Olive Correctional Complex in 2002. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He grew up in Tampa, Fl., where he earned good grades and was a standout on his high school baseball team. Majority Forward is a non-profit voter registration organization, and Turner is a resident of Muscogee County, Georgia. She is the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant mother and a Jewish father, both pediatricians. Leslie J. Abrams was a U.S. attorney until she was nominated by President Barack Obama for a federal judgeship in Georgias Middle District. Ifill, 59, came back to helm the LDF in 2013 after two decades teaching at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore. The Big Bear native got her start teaching high school English and journalism in Riverside County but left in 2006 to be a student again herself, earning a masters degree in journalism from New York University. I went with a friend who asked me to mingle, Gardner told the Daily Mail. 'I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be with such an awesome individual. Police interviewed all of the black players on the Charleston Wheelers, including Gardner, as part of their investigation. Brooke Staggs covers the environment for Southern California News Groups chain of 11 newspapers. Leslie Abrams Gardner. It can happen at any time. font-weight: bold; During her tenure she argued a dozen cases before the Supreme Court on behalf of the government, according to her state supreme court bio. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. When the police began investigating the crime, they picked up all of the black baseball players on Gardners team, interrogated each one and fingerprinted them. } .widget-row.Green { Leslie Abrams Gardner The sister of voting rights activist and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner is 47 years old and currently presides over a federal court in Atlanta, having been nominated by President Obama in 2014. Jackson, who grew up in Miami, graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and clerked for two lower court judges before working for Breyer during the Supreme Courts 1999-2000 term. A century and a decade.

color: white; Leslie Abrams Gardner moderated a discussion entitled "The Color of Justice," looking at mass incarceration in the U.S., with activist and speaker Jimmie Gardner, middle, and artist Masud Olufani. However her prospects are complicated by being the sister of Democratic voting rights activist and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. It was Leslie Abrams Gardner who introduced her husband to Chapman University. I had a lot of hatred, but knew I had to channel that out of me,' Gardner said. One hundred ten years. } We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Given the revelations about Zains testimony, Gardner first filed for the West Virginia courts to review his conviction in 1993. But hes been impressed with the concrete steps the university is taking to improve its diversity and said he wants to support those efforts. background-color: green; | On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In November the organization announced that Ifill plans to step down in the spring after more than nine years in charge. width: 43%; 'I've seen 18-year-olds come in and get a hit put on them and get killed. Two months later, another woman was sexually assaulted. } Gardner, 47, is another judge who would be making an unlikely leap from serving on a federal district court. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas responded by tweeting: "This is absurd. He is seen with his sister Tracey (left), mother Gladys (front and center), nephew Khori Sims, who is in the arms of friend Ed Hansley, and friend Sheilah Lewis, 'It looked like I was guilty, but you had a man falsifying it, that's ridiculous, it's horrible, who does that?'. That dream was deferred in 1989, when Gardner was arrested for a brutal crime he didnt commit. from Yale University School of Law in 2002. I never gave up, Gardner said. Clyburn told the New York Times in February Childs would be a good addition to the Supreme Court.. color: white; Instead of getting offended, Gardner said Leslie Abrams told him, Wow, you could actually be an attorney. She hesitated to tell him her job, he said, fearing his experience with the justice system would put him off. background-color: #f9f9f9; The judge, Leslie Abrams Gardner the sister of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a prominent ally of President-elect Joe Biden who has led voter registration efforts across the state concluded that the counties appeared to have improperly relied on unverified change-of-address data to invalidate registrations in the two counties. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. How to vote | On May 16, 1987, a man described as around 6 feet tall with light black skin broke into an 82-year-old Charleston womans home. } Leslie Abrams Gardner husband: Who is Jimmie Gardner? Gardner later learned that lab results actually showed the attacker had Type O blood, while he had Type A blood. How much damage does wrongful incarcerations have on mothers and fathers? width: 57%; Oh - how these liberal minds work! Apply today! from Yale Law School. He started sharing his story, with no idea the woman he was speaking to was a federal judge. This is an obvious case for recusal. I felt like I was 13 years old. In late December Biden nominated Childs for a spot on the D.C. Zains testimony was used to convict an estimated 136 people in the 1970s and 80s, Gardner later learned. | | In late December Biden nominated her for a spot on the D.C. Circuit. Ifill, 59, would be a bold choice and send a strong statement about Bidens prioritization of civil rights. But no one's story can be quite as astonishing as Gardner's. 'I'll keep fighting for injustice, wrongful convictions and for people who haven't got voices,' Gardner said. .infobox p { While the polls in Georgia officially closed at 7 p.m., the window of opportunity for Stacey. [7], President Joe Biden (D) did not announce a list of nominees he was considering. } width: 250px; Before being appointed to the bench, Jackson worked as an attorney at the firm Morrison & Foerster with an emphasis on appellate litigation. But if the last few decades have taught him anything its that, while life too often isnt fair and dreams do in fact explode, they also can sometimes be put together again. U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, who is the sister of Democratic voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, handed down the ruling after rebuffing a request that she recuse herself from the case. These dupes are the price of the iconic sweater, but still as sleek as a slicked-back bun and hoops. Whether that connection, in combination with her familial relationship with Abrams Gardner, should constitute grounds for recusal, is ultimately a matter of subjective interpretation. 'We got together, it clicked, we know that God brought us together for a purpose. The southern California native has traditional bona fides, including 12 Supreme Court arguments. margin-bottom: 0; } Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was appointed by former California Governor Jerry Brown and is the second-ever Black woman on that states Supreme Court. My case lingered throughout the system for 23 years without me getting the opportunity to get a review in court.. He was questioned, fingerprinted and released. Six months later, as university President Daniele Struppa committed to new diversity initiatives aimed at better supporting students of color on campus in the wake of George Floyds death, Gardner was invited to share his experience during a virtual town hall. | Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images. Jackson was nominated by Obama to the federal district court in Washington, winning Senate confirmation in 2013. On Dec. 28, Abrams Gardner granted that order, meaning the counties were ordered, for the next eight days, not to remove the targeted voters from registration lists, or require them to cast only provisional ballots. margin: auto; U.S. Congress | Leslie Abrams Gardner is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Gardner is several inches taller than the attacker, at 6 foot 3 inches, and points to his dark complexion. Gardner was eventually released on bond on April 1, 2016, and on Sept. 7, 2016, all charges against him were dismissed. It was through this work that he met his wife, Leslie Abrams Gardner, who became the first Black woman appointed as a federal judge in Georgia in 2014 and is sister to voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. Kruger has held several high-ranking posts at the Department of Justice, Although the White House has been tight-lipped about its short list, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger are the consensus front-runners among Bidens progressive allies. [1] Biography [ edit] His team insists the state of West Virginia knew as early as 1985 that Zain wasnt qualified as a DNA or bodily fluids expert but still let the man testify in his 1990 trial, which hinged on exactly such evidence. Out of the 136 cases convicted on Zains testimony, Gardner said he was only the sixth person who successfully challenged his sentence. Kruger, 45, offers a mix of strengths that make her one of the odds-on favorites. She also has an influential backer in Representative Jim Clyburn, the South Carolina Democrat whose endorsement of Biden in the 2020 presidential primary helped rescue his flailing campaign. It was through this work that he met his wife, Leslie Abrams Gardner, who became the first Black woman appointed as a federal judge in Georgia in 2014 and is sister to voting rights activist. But he never got the chance,' Gardner said. Attorney Admissions; Bill of Costs Guide; CJA Attorney Information; CJA eVoucher . Ifill, who spent part of her career at the American Civil Liberties Union, has an undergraduate degree from Vassar College and a law degree from New York University School of Law. from Brown University in 1997 and her J.D. Also, genetic markers did not in fact rule out the other suspect. 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I had fingerprints, photos, stayed 90 minutes to be interrogated, they said nothing matched, and wished me well for the season. background-color: #f9f9f9; font-size: .9em; After he was released, Gardner began working with Georgia schools, prisons and organizations as a motivational speaker and criminal-justice advocate. --With assistance from Jordan Rubin and Ellen Gilmer. Later this year, Gardner is opening Gardner's House, a converted newspaper building that will house up to 48 recently released convicts, giving them shelter, food and opportunities to find jobs. Ballot measures, Who represents me? Circuit Court of Appeals. Three years into his sentence, other agencies started questioning the reliability of Fred Zains DNA evidence. Although her resume may not excite progressives seeking more professional diversity on the federal bench, Gardner understands the criminal justice system in a way few justices have. The federal judge denied Gardners initial petition but assigned him a federal defender and agreed to let them present his case in court. Gardner was one of eight kids born in Georgia to a dad who built houses and a mom who worked for a sewing thread manufacturer. Sentencing Commission for several years as its vice chair. In January, 2020, he sat in the audience as his wife gave the keynote speech during the Fowler School of Laws annual Law Review Symposium. Gardner, 47, is another judge who would be making an unlikely leap from serving on a federal district court. Abrams interest could therefore be substantially affected by the outcome of this proceeding. A federal judge in Georgia on Monday ordered two counties to reverse a decision removing more than 4,000 voters from the rolls ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff elections that will decide control of the U.S. Senate. Now I want to bring awareness and keep individuals informed on how you should react in these situations and how you survive to see another day.. In December 2020, right-leaning observers and prominent Republican politicians cried foul after a federal court judge blocked attempts to remove thousands of names from voter rolls in Georgia, ahead of January's two U.S. Senate run-off elections in the state. Prior to that Kruger, 45, held several high-ranking posts at the Department of Justice, including as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel which provides legal guidance for the executive branch and as an official in the solicitor generals office. [8] On November 12, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on her nomination. [9] On Tuesday, November 18, 2014 the Senate confirmed her nomination by a 1000 vote. U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner A federal judge on Monday evening sided with a voting rights organization seeking to prevent two counties from purging thousands of "targeted voters" from their voting rolls less than two weeks ahead of the state's highly consequential Senate runoff elections. The two met at an event for the Georgias Black Women Lawyers Association. [14], The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Abrams on May 13, 2014. A former prosecutor nominated by Obama in 2014, she became the first Black female federal judge in Georgia, winning confirmation 100-0. The board of elections in Ben Hill County determined that Roberts' challenge to the eligibility of 152 of those voters was likely valid, and they designated those 152 voters "pending hearing" and contacted them to advise that they would only be allowed to cast provisional ballots in the January 2021 Senate run-off election, and would subsequently have to "cure" those ballots by providing proof of their residency. Jimmie Gardner was released from a West Virginia prison in 2016, 26 years after being wrongly convicted of sexual assault, robbery and unlawful entry related to break-ins that occurred in the 1980s. He agreed there had been a miscarriage of justice, but it still took 46 months before Gardner was released, and the state wasn't willing to give in, and wanted a retrial, even offering him ten years if he admitted his guilt. As president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund -- a position once held by the late Justice Thurgood Marshall before he was nominated -- Ifill has been at the center of policy debates and pressure campaigns involving voting rights, police brutality and job discrimination. As of Dec. 31, no such order was available on the case's online docket. Leslie Abrams Gardner. } A federal judge in Georgia on Monday ordered two counties to reverse a decision removing more than 4,000 voters from the rolls The judge, Leslie Abrams Gardner the sister of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. It's traumatic for the parents. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Photographer: Tom Williams/Pool/Getty Images, Photographer: S. Todd Rogers/The Recorder/AP Photo, Photographer: Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images, President has pledged to nominate first Black female justice, Progressives want more professional diversity on court. Fred Zain, a forensic expert at the West Virginia State criminal lab, claimed his samples matched blood from the crime scene, and Gardner was found guilty on that evidence alone, being sentenced to 110 years in February 1990. Her familial relation has already been used against her by conservatives to criticize her rulings on cases she has overseen a line of attack that would surely escalate if Biden selected her for the Supreme Court and could potentially drag out the confirmation process. However, she is the chairperson of Fair Fight, a voting rights organization that acted as a plaintiff in a very similar case, albeit in a different U.S. District Court, in Georgia, at the same time. 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[9][10] Click here to read more about the vacancy and nomination process. Abrams is the leader of Fair Fight Action, . For Stacey Abrams sister to refuse to recuse and issue this decision despite her indisputable bias undermines the integrity of the entire judicial system." She will serve the American people with integrity and an unwavering commitment to justice. background-color: grey; But the Abrams aren't the only high-profile names Gardner has mingled with since his release - through his work he's also met Amanda Knox and John Lewis. REVEALED: 'Fragile' Justin Bieber was 'FORCED to cancel his tour' by doctors amid fears for his health after Ramsay Hunt syndrome diagnosis: 'Hailey and his family have been so worried', New York Times reporter was SPAT on after 'being recognized in public' after paper's own reporters and woke Hollywood A-listers criticized its trans coverage, Meet the band! Cities | .widget-row.value-only { 'I was the only male there, I went with a friend who asked me to mingle,' Gardner said. .widget-row.value-only.black { In 1993 the West Virginia Supreme Court found that Zain had a long history of falsifying evidence in criminal prosecutions. An investigation concluded that Zains pattern and practice of misconduct completely undermined the validity and reliability of any forensic work he performed or reported and that as a matter of law, any testimonial or documentary evidence offered by Zain at any time in any criminal prosecution should be deemed invalid, unreliable, and inadmissible . Even though Gardners defense team was not allowed to view the lab results showing that the person who committed the rapes had a different blood type from Gardners, and even though the states stance was that the same person had committed both rapes, he was acquitted of the charges related to Ruckman (pdf) but convicted of rape (of Galati), assault (of Ferrell), battery, robbery and burglary because Zain said that Gardner was one of the few people on the planet who matched the DNA. She would stand out as the first justice nominated in three decades with experience as a state supreme court justice. display: inline-block; 'She's very experienced - numerous years in political spectrum,' Gardner said. Conservatives would likely focus on her ties to her sister, voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, who ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 and was behind get-out-the-vote efforts that flipped the state blue in 2020. She would bring another dimension of diversity to the Supreme Court as a former public defender. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Leslie Abrams Gardner (ne Leslie Joyce Abrams; born December 6, 1974) is a U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. .widget-row.Democratic { Some people you think will be uneasy, maybe her parents won't accept me, but they did. State executives | The Abrams are daughters of two Methodist ministers from Mississippi and have welcomed Gardner with open arms into their family, who he says are 'extraordinary and remarkable'. } At one particular gathering of black judges, he met Leslie Gardner. 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