Eleanor Louise Ross

Eleanor Louise Ross (born December 8, 1967) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and former Judge of the DeKalb County State Court.

Eleanor Louise Ross
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office November 20, 2014
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Charles A. Pannell, Jr.
Personal details
Born	Eleanor Louise Barnwell December 8, 1967 Washington, D.C.
Residence	Lithonia, Georgia
Education	American University (B.A.) University of Houston Law Center (J.D.)

Biography

Ross received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989, from American University. She received her Juris Doctor in 1994, from the University of Houston Law Center. She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Tarrant County, Texas, from 1995 to 1996. She served as an Assistant Solicitor General in the Office of the DeKalb County, Georgia, Solicitor General, from 1997 to 1998. From 1998 to 2002, she was a Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. From 2002 to 2005, she was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia. From 2007 to 2011, she served as Executive Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. From 2011 to 2014, she served as a Judge on the DeKalb County State Court.[1][2]

Federal judicial service

On December 19, 2013, President Obama nominated Ross to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, to the seat vacated by Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr., who took senior status on January 31, 2013.[3] She received a hearing before the full panel of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on May 13, 2014.[4] On June 19, 2014 her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[5] On November 12, 2014 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on her nomination. On Monday, November 17, 2014 cloture was invoked by a vote of 66–29.[6] On Tuesday, November 18, 2014 the Senate confirmed her by voice vote. She received her judicial commission on November 20, 2014.[2]

Notable ruling

In November 2018 Ross ruled against then Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp whose office delayed 50,000 voting registration applications placed on hold due to Georgia's “exact-match” law, requiring that personal information on voter applications match what is on state databases.[7] Her ruling allowed some 3,000 naturalized U.S. citizens to vote in elections and prevent the state from throwing out some absentee ballots.[8]

Personal life

She is married to Brian Ross, a DeKalb County Judge[9] and former Clayton County prosecutor.[10]

References

1. "President Obama Nominates Eight to Serve on the United States District Courts". 19 December 2013.
2. "Ross, Eleanor Louise – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
3. "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". 19 December 2013.
4. "Judicial Nominations". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
5. "Executive Business Meeting" (PDF). United States Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
6. "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress – 2nd Session". Vote Summary: Vote Number 279. United States Senate. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
7. Caspani, Maria; Harte, Julia; Ahmann, Tim (2018-11-02). Adler, Leslie (ed.). "U.S. courts rule against Georgia on voter suppression cases". reuters.com. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
8. Van Sant, Shannon (2018-11-03). "Judge Rules Against Georgia Election Law, Calling It A 'Severe Burden' For Voters". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
9. https://www.linkedin.com/in/judgebrianross
10. "Judge Eleanor Ross, a 'Warrior' With a 'Big Heart' – Daily Report".

External links

• Eleanor Louise Ross at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Eleanor L. Ross at Ballotpedia