Judge Patricia Millett
D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Patricia Ann Millett was born in September 1963 in Dexter, Maine. She earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a Juris Doctor from Harvard University. She worked in private practice. She later clerked at the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Millett worked four years for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, later becoming an assistant to the United States Solicitor General. She returned to private practice and also blogged on the activities of the U.S. Supreme Court.
She was nominated by President Barack Obama to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was confirmed by the Senate and received her commission in December 2013.
She is married to Robert King and is a member of the United Methodist Church.
In the News…
A panel of the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided that then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acted within his authority to terminate a plea deal for terrorists who were behind the September 11, 2001, attacks. The deal, which was negotiated over two years, would remove the death penalty as an option in exchange for a plea of guilty from the prisoners who are being held at Guantanamo Bay. The agreement the former defense secretary overturned would have given them life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Judge Patricia Millett was joined by Judge Neomi Rao in writing, “Having properly assumed the convening authority, the Secretary determined that the ‘families and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out.’“
Their opinion continued, “The Secretary acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment.”
Military prosecutors and a U.S. military court had okayed the plea agreement as the case had been in pre-trial status for nearly twenty years.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Millett today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Patricia Millett
D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
333 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
