Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.

Paula Xinis

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Paula Xinis
Image of Paula Xinis

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Tenure

2016 - Present

Years in position

9

Education

Bachelor's

University of Virginia, 1991

Law

Yale Law School, 1997

Personal
Birthplace
Mineola, N.Y.
Contact

Official website


Paula Xinis is an Article III federal judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. She was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama on March 26, 2015, to a seat previously occupied by Judge Deborah Chasanow, who assumed senior status. Xinis was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 16, 2016. Prior to her confirmation, Xinis was a partner with the law firm of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy.[1][2]

Education

Xinis earned her bachelor's from the University of Virginia in 1991, and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1997.[1]

Professional career

  • 2011-2016: Murphy, Falcon & Murphy
  • 2013-Present: Partner
  • 2011-2013: Senior trial attorney
  • 2005-2011: Complaint examiner, Office of Police Complaints for the District of Columbia
  • 1998-2011: Assistant federal public defender
  • 1997-1998: Law clerk, Honorable Diana Motz, Fourth Circuit[1][3]
Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Paula Xinis
Court: District of Maryland
Progress
Confirmed 417 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: March 26, 2015
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: July 22, 2015
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: September 17, 2015 
ApprovedAConfirmed: May 16, 2016
ApprovedAVote: 53-34


Judicial career

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

On March 26, 2015, President Barack Obama nominated Paula Xinis to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland to succeed Judge Deborah Chasanow, who assumed senior status. On the nomination:

“ I am pleased to nominate these distinguished individuals to serve on the United States District Court bench. I am confident they will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.[4] ”

The American Bar Association rated Xinis Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[5] The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Xinis on July 22, 2015.[6] She was reported to the full U.S. Senate on September 17, 2015.[7] On May 16, 2016, Xinis was confirmed by the full Senate on a vote of 53-34. Eleven senators did not vote on her confirmation.[2]

Noteworthy cases

Supreme Court partially upholds order on deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia (2025)

See also: Supreme Court emergency orders related to the Trump administration, 2025

On March 15, 2025, the federal government deported three planeloads of Salvadoran and Venezuelan individuals to be held at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. One of these individuals was a man named Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who illegally entered the United States in 2011. In 2019, an immigration judge granted Abrego Garcia withholding of removal status, which barred the U.S. from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador due to the likelihood that he would be targeted by gangs there.[8]

After the federal government deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, his family filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland saying he was not affiliated with a criminal gang and that he was illegally deported to El Salvador due to his withholding of removal status. They sought his return to the United States.[8] Judge Paula Xinis oversaw the trial. In the Department of Justice's initial response to the lawsuit, Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Immigration Litigation Erez Reuveni wrote that Abrego Garcia was a member of a criminal gang and that he "was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error," but argued that the federal government did not have jurisdiction to retrieve Abrego Garcia from El Salvador.[9][10]

On April 4, 2025, Xinis ruled that the federal government needed to "facilitate and effectuate the return" of Abrego Garcia.[11] The federal government subsequently appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. On April 7, 2025, a three-judge panel upheld Xinis' order.[12] The federal government then appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court, which issued a unanimous ruling partially upholding and partially vacating Xinis' order. In its April 10 opinion, the court wrote, "The order properly requires the Government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. The intended scope of the term “effectuate” in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority. The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs."[13]

Xinis amended her order on April 10, clarifying the term effectuate to mean she was ordering the federal government to "take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States as soon as possible."[14] The federal government subsequently argued that the Supreme Court's order only required them to take domestic actions that would allow Abrego Garcia back into the country, but that the order did not require the federal government to take any foreign policy action to secure or encourage his release.[15]

On April 30, Xinis denied a motion to stay from the Trump Administration and ordered an expedited discovery schedule, setting May deadlines for the Trump Administration to provide information about what steps it has taken to facilitate Abego Garcia's return. [16][17]

On June 6, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Abego Garcia was returned to the United States to face criminal charges in Tennessee.[18] In a court filing seeking dismissal of the case on June 10, the Justice Department said, "Defendants have done exactly what Plaintiffs asked for and what this Court ordered them to do: Plaintiff Abrego Garcia has been returned to the United States."[19] On July 23, a judge in Tennessee ruled that Abrego Garcia should be released from custody pending his trial.[20] That day, Xinis ordered that Abrego Garcia be returned to the state of Maryland following his release in Tennessee.[21]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The White House, "President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the United States District Courts," March 26, 2015
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Senate, "Confirmation vote - PN 327," May 16, 2016
  3. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees," accessed April 20, 2015
  4. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  5. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III Judicial Nominees: 114th Congress," accessed April 1, 2015
  6. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Nominations," July 22, 2015
  7. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting - September 17, 2015," accessed September 18, 2015
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Atlantic, "An ‘Administrative Error’ Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison," March 31, 2025
  9. ↑ Associated Press, "Trump administration argues judge cannot order return of man mistakenly deported to El Salvador," April 5, 2025
  10. ↑ CourtListener, "DEFENDANTS’ MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ EMERGENCY MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER," March 31, 2025
  11. ↑ CourtListener, "Order Granting Preliminary Injunction," April 4, 2025
  12. ↑ CourtListener, "Order," April 7, 2025
  13. ↑ Supreme Court, "ON APPLICATION TO VACATE INJUNCTION ENTERED BY THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND," April 10, 2025
  14. ↑ CourtListener, "Order," April 10, 2025
  15. ↑ Politico, "Trump administration contends it has no duty to return illegally deported man to US," April 13, 2025
  16. ↑ CourtListener, "Order on Motion to Stay," April 30, 2025
  17. ↑ Washington Post, "Judge sets schedule for depositions in Kilmar Abrego García case," April 30, 2025
  18. ↑ Newsweek, "Kilmar Abrego Garcia Returned to US to Face Criminal Charges: DOJ," June 6, 2025
  19. ↑ ABC News, "Trump administration argues it complied with court order to return Abrego Garcia," June 10, 2025
  20. ↑ The Hill, "Judges pave way for Abrego Garcia’s return to Maryland," July 23, 2025
  21. ↑ CourtListener, "Order on Motion for Other Relief — Document #239," July 23, 2025

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the District of Maryland
2016-Present		 Succeeded by
-


Maryland courts

Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Maryland • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Maryland

State courts:

Maryland Supreme Court • Appellate Court of Maryland • Maryland District Courts • Maryland Circuit Courts • Maryland Orphans' Court

State resources:

Courts in Maryland • Maryland judicial elections • Judicial selection in Maryland

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paula_Xinis&oldid=10449861"