James E. Boasberg

Judge James E. “Jeb” Boasberg was appointed to the District Court in March 2011. Judge Boasberg is a native Washingtonian, having graduated from St. Albans School in 1981. He received a B.A., magna cum laude, in History in 1985 from Yale College, where he also played basketball. Judge Boasberg then received an M.St. in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1986 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990.

Judge Boasberg next served as a law clerk to Judge Dorothy W. Nelson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Following his clerkship, he was a litigation associate at Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco from 1991 to 1994 and at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington from 1995 to 1996. In 1996 Judge Boasberg joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia as an Assistant United States Attorney, where he served for 5½ years and specialized in homicide prosecutions.

In September 2002, Judge Boasberg became an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Superior Court, where he served in the Civil and Criminal Divisions and the Domestic Violence Branch until his appointment to the federal bench in 2011.

Judge Boasberg also serves on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a position he took on in May 2014 after appointment by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Judge

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

2011 - Current

Associate judge

Superior Court of the District of Columbia

2002 - 2011

Assistant U.S. attorney

District of Columbia

1996 - 2002

Attorney

Private practice, Washington, D.C.

1995 - 1996

Attorney

Private practice, San Francisco, California

1991 - 1994

Law clerk

Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

1990 - 1991

Yale Law School

J.D. (1990)

University of Oxford, Magdalen College

M.St. (1986)

Yale University

B.A. (1985)

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

2014 - Current