Richard J. Leon
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Senior status. Born 1949.
Federal judicial service
Newest firstJudge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Appointed by
- George W. Bush (Republican)
- Nominated
- Sep 10, 2001
- Senate vote
- Voice vote
- Confirmed
- Feb 14, 2002
- Commissioned
- Feb 19, 2002
- Senior status
- Dec 31, 2016
Education
- A.B., College of the Holy Cross, 1971
- J.D., Suffolk University Law School, 1974
- LL.M., Harvard Law School, 1981
Career
- Law clerk, Massachusetts Superior Court, 1974-1975
- Law clerk, Hon. Thomas F. Kelleher, Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 1975-1976
- Attorney, Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program, 1976-1977
- Special assistant U.S. attorney, Civil Division, Southern District of New York, 1977-1978
- Assistant professor of law, St. John's University School of Law, 1979-1983
- Senior trial attorney, Criminal Section, Tax Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1983-1987
- Deputy chief minority counsel, U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran, 1987-1988
- Deputy assistant attorney general, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1988-1989
- Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1989-2002
- Commissioner, White House Fellows Commission, 1990-1993
- Chief minority counsel, October Surprise Task Force, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, 1992-1993
- Special counsel, Whitewater investigation, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, 1994
- Adjunct professor, Georgetown University Law Center, 1997-
- Special counsel, U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Reform Task Force, 1997
- Commissioner, Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control, 2000-2001
- Adjunct professor, George Washington University Law School, 2004-
DataSources: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal JudgesData as of Oct 29, 2026
A work of the U.S. government, not under copyright (17 U.S.C. 105).