Judge Zahid Quraishi
New Jersey U.S. District Court
Zahid Nisar Quraishi was born in July 1975 in New York City to immigrants from Pakistan. He earned an undergraduate degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and received his Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law. He clerked for a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court.
Quraishi became a litigation associate at an international law firm prior to joining the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps. He served in Germany and Iraq during his four years of service.
Quraishi served as assistant chief counsel in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York, then as an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey. He was appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in 2019.
Quraishi was nominated by President Biden in March 2021 to serve as a federal district judge on the same court. He was confirmed by the Senate in June 2021 and received his commission later that month.
Quraishi is the first Muslim to be confirmed to the federal bench.
In the News…
Judge Zahid Quraishi of the District of New Jersey dismissed a lawsuit with prejudice in which the Department of Justice (DOJ) sought to access the complete voter registration database of New Jersey under the 1960 Civil Rights Act. Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell filed the motion to dismiss the case, which was intended to identify noncitizens registered on the state’s voter rolls. Governor Mikie Sherrill reported that 6,600 noncitizens had been registered to vote between 2023 and 2024 due to a “software error.”
The Justice Department argued that the state could not “simultaneously admit that hundreds of federal crimes have been committed by noncitizen voters” and deny Section III of the Civil Rights Division’s request.
“This Court disagrees,” Judge Quraishi wrote in his 17-page opinion regarding the DOJ’s civil rights law interpretation. “As a threshold but dispositive matter, the State’s computerized (voter-registration list) is outside the scope of Title III’s inspection provision.”
The Justice Department is expected to appeal.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Quraishi today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Zahid Quraishi
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Clarkson S. Fisher Building & U.S. Courthouse
402 East State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
