Reggie B. Walton (born Donora, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1949) is a United States District Judge for the District of Columbia.
Contents |
Early life and education
Walton's father worked two jobs in the steel town Donora in which the young Walton appeared in court three times over gang fighting. Walton credits an incident in which a friend nearly killed a rival with an icepick with convincing him to turn towards academics. He won a football scholarship to get his Bachelor of Arts degree from West Virginia State College in 1971, and then a law degree from The American University, Washington College of Law, in 1974. Judge Walton is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.
Career
Walton served as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 1981 to 1989 and from 1991 to 2001. He also served as associate director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In 2001, he was nominated to be a federal bench by President George W. Bush, and subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In 2004, Bush appointed him to chair a commission investigating ways to curb prison rape. In May 2007, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. appointed him to a seat on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.[1] Despite his appointments by Republican officials, The Washington Post reported, "fellow judges and lawyers who appear before him say Walton's decisions do not appear to be guided by politics but by a tough-on-crime mentality." Walton is known by local defense attorneys as a "long ball hitter" - a judge willing to impose long sentences in order to deter future crimes.[1] In fall 2005, the judge was driving his wife and daughter to the airport for a vacation when he came across an assailant attacking a cab driver on the side of the road. Walton tackled the assailant and subdued him until police arrived. The D.C. police spokesperson noted in response, "God bless Judge Walton. I surely wouldn't want to mess with him."[1]
Cases presided over
Past cases
 |
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the .(December 2007) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. |
Walton dismissed one of FBI whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds' lawsuits, after "sitting on the case with no activity for almost two years,"[2] and is "randomly" presiding over her other suit as well. For some reason, Walton's required financial disclosure report for 2003 is completely redacted.[3] According to Edmonds, this redacted statement "appears to be in violation of the Ethics in Government Act," which requires judges and certain high ranking government officials to file such reports annually.
United States v. Libby
- See main article: United States v. Libby
Walton has also been presiding over the criminal case of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Scooter Libby. On March 6, 2007, the jury convicted Libby of four of the five counts with which he was charged: two counts of perjury, one of obstruction of justice, and one of making false statements to federal investigators.[4] On June 5, 2007, Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in federal prison and a fine of US$250,000, and, subsequently, he ordered that Libby report to jail without bail pending any appeals.[5] On June 20, 2007, Libby appealed Walton's ruling in federal appeals court.[6] The next day, Walton filed a 30-page expanded ruling, in which he explained his decision to deny Libby bail in more detail.[7]
- Further information: United States v. Libby#Sentencing and United States v. Libby#Libby ordered to jail pending appeal
Current cases
Hatfill v. John Ashcroft et al.
Walton has been presiding over the lawsuit that Steven Hatfill filed against former US Attorney General John Ashcroft.[8] Ashcroft publicly described Hatfill as a "Person of interest" in the FBI's investigations into the 2001 anthrax attacks. On March 30, 2007, Walton issued an order warning Hatfill that he may lose his civil lawsuit over the leaks if he does not compel journalists to name their sources and giving Hatfill until April 16, 2007, to decide whether to do so.[9][10] Hatfill's lawyers have complied with the order, as reported on April 18th by Gerstein, who warns that a "free press battle looms," as
The reporters in jeopardy now are expected to defy Hatfill's subpoenas and any court order to name their sources. ... one critical issue will be whether Judge Walton imposes fines on the news organizations involved. ... A First Amendment battle could possibly be avoided: The government and Dr. Hatfill's lawyers asked Walton to name a mediator to explore a possible settlement of the case. ... No one has been charged in the anthrax attacks, which killed at least five people.[7]
- Further information: Steven Hatfill#Hatfill v. John Ashcroft, et al.
See also
- 2001 Anthrax attacks
- CIA leak grand jury investigation
- Lewis Libby
- Steven Hatfill
- United States v. Libby
Notes and references
- ^ a b c "Libby Jurist's Career Built on Toughness", The Washington Post, June 5, 2007
- ^ " The War Party Is Down, but for How Long?" by Christopher Deliso, antiwar.com, 1 November 2005
- ^ 2003 Financial Disclosure Report of Reggie B. WaltonPDF (120 KiB), hosted by judicialwatch.org
- ^ Diary of the Leak Trial, The New York Times, updated periodically, accessed June 23, 2007.
- ^ Neil A. Lewis and David Stout, "Judge Won't Delay Libby Prison Term", The New York Times, 14 June, 2007, accessed 16 June, 2007.
- ^ Associated Press, "Libby Appeals Sentencing Ruling", New York Times, 20 June, 2007, accesssed 20 June, 2007.
- ^ a b Josh Gerstein, "Libby Judge Files Expanded Opinion: Details Decision Not Allowing Libby to Remain Free", New York Sun, June 22, 2007, accessed June 22, 2007.
- ^ "Anthrax 'person of interest' sues Ashcroft, FBI", CNN, 27 August 2003.
- ^ Hatfill v. Ashcroft et alPDF (34.7 KiB), United States District Court for the District of Columbia Civil Action No. 03-1793.
- ^ See Josh Gerstein, "Judge Urges Hatfill To Compel Outing of Sources", The New York Sun, April 4, 2007, accessed June 23, 2007.
External links
- USCourts.gov - 'Judge Reggie B. Walton' (official US Court biography)
- RawStory.com - 'Former FBI whistleblower files against judge in Libby trial over secrecy issues', Ron Brynaert, Raw Story (March 22, 2006)
- Slate.com - 'Free Scooter Libby: The case gets weirder by the day,' By Christopher Hitchens (June 18, 2007)
