Jeffrey White
| Jeffrey White | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 15, 2002 |
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| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Charles A. Legge |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 2, 1945 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Queens College, CUNY University at Buffalo, SUNY |
Jeffrey Steven White (born September 2, 1945) is a District Judge serving on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Contents |
[edit] Early life, education, and career
Born in New York, New York, White received a B.A. from Queens College, City University of New York in 1967 and a J.D. from the State University of New York in 1970. He was an attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1970 to 1971, and again from 1977 to 1978, serving in the interim as an assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. He was in private practice in San Francisco, California from 1978 to 2002.
[edit] Federal judicial service
On July 25, 2002, White was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated by Charles A. Legge. White was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 14, 2002, and received commission on November 15, 2002.
[edit] Global Warming ruling
In 2005, White allowed environment groups and four municipalities to go forward with a lawsuit against federal agencies. The basis for the lawsuit was a claim that the federal government is contributing to global warming by funding various overseas projects.
[edit] Wikileaks ruling
In February 2008, White shut down the ISP for the American mirror of the Website WikiLeaks. The basis for this action was a claim by the Swiss banking group Julius Baer. On February 18, 2008, White approved an agreement between Dynadot and Baer (an injunction based on stipulation);[1][2] this action garnered news coverage around the world.[3][4]
This order was widely criticized as both improper (prior restraint is generally prohibited by the First Amendment) and ineffective (Wikileaks' web servers are in Sweden, and numerous mirrors exist).[5]
White vacated the injunction on February 29, 2008, citing First Amendment concerns and questions about legal jurisdiction.[6] Wikileaks was thus able to bring its site online again. The bank dropped the case on March 5, 2008.[7] The judge also denied the bank's request for an order prohibiting the website's publication.[8]
The Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Lucy Dalglish, commented:
"It's not very often a federal judge does a 180 degree turn in a case and dissolves an order. But we're very pleased the judge recognized the constitutional implications in this prior restraint."[8]
[edit] Defense of Marriage Act
In 2012, White ruled in favor of a staff attorney in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who sued to get health benefits for her spouse under California law. In his ruling he struck down the Defense of Marriage Act for failing even the most deferential rational basis test.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Wikileaks.org under injunction - Wikileaks
- ^ California District Court Injunction against Dynadot, the WikiLeakS.org Domain Registrar
- ^ BBC "Whistle blower site taken offline" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7250916.stm Monday, 18 February 2008, 16:20 GMT
- ^ Royal Gazette "Wikileaks shut down" http://www.theroyalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d82a3330030021§ionId=60 Monday, 18 February 2008, 18:55 GMT
- ^ Misguided judge pulls plug on Wikileaks
- ^ Philipp Gollner (29 February 2008). "Judge reverses ruling in Julius Baer leak case". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2927431720080229. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Claburn, Thomas (2008-03-06). "Swiss Bank Abandons Lawsuit Against Wikileaks: The wiki had posted financial documents it said proved tax evasion by Bank Julius Baer's clients". InformationWeek. http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206902154.
- ^ a b Judge reverses Wikileaks injunction The Inquirer.
- ^ Levine, Dan. "Gay spouse given health benefits in U.S. court case". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/us-usa-gaymarriage-doma-idUSTRE81L25C20120223. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
- Jeffrey White at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
[edit] External links
- "Federal Judge OKs Global Warming Lawsuit", David Kravetz, the Associated Press, August 24, 2005
- "Judge Shuts Down Web Site Specializing in Leaks" from the New York Times
