Clay D. Land

Clay Daniel Land (born March 24, 1960) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Clay D. Land
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
In office October 1, 2014 – June 30, 2020
Preceded by	C. Ashley Royal
Succeeded by	Marc Thomas Treadwell
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office December 21, 2001
Appointed by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	J. Robert Elliott
Member of the Georgia Senate from the 16th District[1]
In office 1995 – 2000[1]
Succeeded by	Seth Harp
Member of the Columbus City Council[1]
In office 1993 – 1994[1]
Personal details
Born	(1960-03-24) March 24, 1960 Shreveport, Louisiana
Political party	Republican[2]
Spouse(s)	Shannon M. Fedler[1]
Education	University of Georgia (B.B.A.) University of Georgia Law School (J.D.)

Education and law practice

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Land received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia in 1982 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia Law School in 1985. He was in private practice in Columbus, Georgia, from 1985 to 2001.

Political career

Land served as a member of the Columbus City Council from 1993 - 1994. In 1994 he was elected to the Georgia State Senate as a Republican. He served three terms (6 years) representing District 16, the same seat previously held by his cousin Ted. J. Land from 1979 - 1991.[3][4]

District court service

On September 21, 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Land to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia vacated by J. Robert Elliott. Land was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 13, 2001, and received his commission on December 21, 2001. He served as Chief Judge from October 1, 2014 to June 30, 2020.[5]

Notable case

Land was in the spotlight in late 2009 when he tried the case Rhodes v. Macdonald, in which Army physician Connie Rhodes attempted to secure a restraining order against her being deployed to Iraq on the argument that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and was ineligible to serve as President. Land rejected the argument as frivolous. Within hours of Land's decision, the physician's attorney, Orly Taitz, told the news site Talking Points Memo that she felt Land's refusal to hear her case was an act of treason.[6] Two days later, she filed a motion to stay Rhodes' deployment pending rehearing of the dismissal order. She repeated her treason allegations against Land and made several other intemperate statements, including claims that Land was aiding and abetting purported aspirations of "dictatorship" by Obama.[7] Land rejected the motion as frivolous and ordered her to show cause why she should not be fined $10,000 for abuse of judicial process.[8]

After Rhodes asked for Taitz to be removed as her attorney,[9] on October 13, 2009, Judge Land issued a scathing 40-page ruling sanctioning Taitz and imposed a monetary penalty of $20,000 under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.[10][11] Upon learning of Land's ruling, Taitz told Talking Points Memo that she would not pay the fine, calling it "intimidation".

Judge Land ruled to continue the incarceration of ICE detainees at the detention center in Irwin County, Georgia during the COVID-19 crisis. During the more than three month period, from the original filing to the day of the hearing, one inmate in a nearby facility had died from the disease. In his summation he indicated that he had "not heard anything terribly persuasive to change my mind." [12]

References

1. Confirmation hearings on federal appointments : hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session. pt.2 (2002)
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2019-10-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Hon. Clay Land (GA SS 16)". State of Georgia (Legislative archives). November 8, 2000. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
4. "Members Of The General Assembly Of Georgia". State of Georgia. January 1990. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
5. "Judicial Milestones". United States Courts.
6. Justin Elliott (September 16, 2009). "Birther Orly Taitz Compares Self To Mandela, Wants Judge Tried For Treason". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009.
7. Motion for stay of Connie Rhodes' deployment
8. Justin Elliott (September 18, 2009). "Judge Clay Land v. Orly Taitz, Part II". TPM Muckraker.
9. Alan Riquelmy (September 19, 2009). "Letter signed Capt. Connie Rhodes says she had never agreed to an appeal, says Rhodes will file complaint against attorney Orly Taitz". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009.
10. Justin Elliott (October 13, 2009). "Judgment Day: Birther Taitz Fined $20,000 For Misconduct". Talking Points Memo.
11. Land, Clay D. (October 13, 2009). "Order". United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
12. Freed Wessler, Seth (June 4, 2020). "Fear, Illness and Death in ICE Detention: How a Protest Grew on the Inside". The New York Times.

Sources

• Clay D. Land at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by J. Robert Elliott	Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia 2001–present	Incumbent
Preceded by C. Ashley Royal	Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia 2014–2020	Succeeded by Marc Thomas Treadwell