Elizabeth L. Branch

Elizabeth Lee "Lisa" Branch[2] (born March 30, 1968) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She is a former judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Elizabeth L. Branch
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Assumed office
March 19, 2018
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byFrank M. Hull
Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals
In office
September 1, 2012 – March 19, 2018
Appointed byNathan Deal
Preceded byCharles Mikell
Succeeded byElizabeth Gobeil
Personal details
Born (1968-03-30) March 30, 1968[1]
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1]
EducationDavidson College (BA)
Emory University School of Law (JD)

Biography

Branch was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1968[3] and was raised in Fulton County.[4] She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Davidson College, cum laude, and her Juris Doctor, with distinction, from the Emory University School of Law, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as the notes and comments editor of the Emory Law Journal.

She began her legal career by serving for two years as a law clerk to Judge J. Owen Forrester of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. From 2004 to 2008, Branch served as a senior official in the administration of President George W. Bush. During this period, she served for three years as the Counselor to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the U. S. Office of Management and Budget, and for one year as the Associate General Counsel for Rules and Legislation at the United States Department of Homeland Security. Prior to ascending to the bench, Branch was a partner in the commercial litigation practice group at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP in Atlanta, where she began her legal career in 1996.

She served as a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals from 2012, when she was appointed by Governor of Georgia Nathan Deal to succeed Charles Mikell, to 2018 when she was appointed to the federal bench.[5][6]

Federal judicial service

On September 7, 2017, President Trump nominated Branch to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, to the seat soon vacated by Judge Frank M. Hull on December 31, 2017.[7] On December 13, 2017, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[8]

On January 3, 2018, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[9] On January 5, 2018, Trump announced his intent to renominate Branch to a federal judgeship.[10] On January 8, 2018 her renomination was sent to the Senate.[11] On January 18, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 19–2 vote.[12] On February 26, the Senate invoked cloture by a vote of 72–22.[13] The next day her nomination was confirmed by a vote of 73–23.[14] She received her commission on March 19, 2018.

Notable cases

In 2020, she dissented in NAACP v. Alabama, arguing that voters cannot sue states for remediation under the Voting Rights Act.[15]

Memberships and awards

Branch was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal in 2013 to the Georgia Commission on Child Support. She is a member of the board of advisors of the Atlanta Lawyers Chapter for the Federalist Society. She is serving on the Emory University board of visitors through 2018. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia's Appellate Practice Section and is a Master in the Lamar American Inn of Court and the Bleckley American Inn of Court. Branch is a former co-chair of the Homeland Security and National Defense Committee of the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice of the American Bar Association. She was selected for inclusion in Georgia Super Lawyers in 2012.[4]

Electoral history
2014
Georgia Court of Appeals Results, May 20, 2014[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Elizabeth L. Branch (incumbent) 714,000 100.00%
Majority 714,000 100.00%
Total votes 714,000 100.00%

References
  1. Hubbell, Martindale (April 2000). Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory: Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho (Volume 7 - 2000). Martindale-Hubbell. ISBN 9781561603763.
  2. "Hon. Elizabeth Lee Branch". State Bar of Georgia. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  3. "Court of Appeals of Georgia: Elizabeth L. Branch, Judge". www.gaappeals.us.
  4. "Elizabeth L. Branch". Georgia Court of Appeals. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  6. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventh Wave of Judicial Candidates". whitehouse.gov. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  7. "Eight Nominations Sent to the Senate Today". whitehouse.gov. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  8. "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov.
  9. "Congressional Record". www.congress.gov.
  10. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Renomination of 21 Judicial Nominees".
  11. "Nominations Sent to the Senate Today".
  12. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
  13. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress - 2nd Session". www.senate.gov.
  14. "Roll Call vote PN1404". United States Senate. February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  15. Stern, Mark Joseph (February 4, 2020). "Trump Judge Argues Voters Can't Sue States Over Voting Rights". Slate. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  16. "General Primary/General Nonpartisan/Special Election – May 20, 2014". Georgia Election Results. Office of the Secretary of State of Georgia. May 29, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Charles Mikell		 Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals
2012–2018		 Succeeded by
Elizabeth D. Gobeil
Preceded by
Frank M. Hull		 Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
2018–present		 Incumbent
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