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Rudolph Contreras

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Rudolph Contreras
Image of Rudolph Contreras

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Tenure

2012 - Present

Years in position

13

Prior offices
United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Education

Bachelor's

Florida State University, 1984

Law

University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1991

Contact

Official website

Rudolph Contreras is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He joined the court in 2012 after a nomination from President Barack Obama (D).[1][2]

Contreras was the presiding judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He was appointed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts on May 19, 2016.[3] Contreras became presiding judge of the court on May 19, 2021, and retired from the court on May 18, 2023.[4]

Early life and education

A native of New York, New York, Contreras received his bachelor's degree from Florida State University in 1984 and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1991.[1][2]

Professional career

Judicial career

District of Columbia (2012-present)

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Rudolph Contreras
Court: United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Progress
Confirmed 238 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: July 28, 2011
ApprovedAABA Rating: Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: October 4, 2011
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: November 3, 2011 
ApprovedAConfirmed: March 22, 2012
ApprovedAVote: Voice vote

Contreras was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by President Barack Obama (D) on July 28, 2011, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Ricardo Urbina.[5] Obama commented on this and other nominations, telling the press, “I am honored to put forward these highly qualified candidates for the federal bench. They will be distinguished public servants and valuable additions to the United States District Court.”[2]

Contreras was rated Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified for the nomination by the American Bar Association. Hearings on Contreras' nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 4, 2011, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on November 3, 2011. Contreras was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on March 22, 2012, and he received his commission the next day.[1][6][7]

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (2016-2023)

Contreras became a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on May 19, 2016, and retired on May 18, 2023. He was appointed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts.[3] Contreras became presiding judge of the court on May 19, 2021.[4]

Noteworthy cases

Order regarding firing of Merit Systems Protection Board member stayed by Supreme Court

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

In January and February 2025, respectively, President Donald Trump (R) removed Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and removed Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).[8][9] Both Wilcox and Harris filed separate lawsuits challenging their removals, which were later consolidated. Wilcox and Harris argued that their firings were unlawful based on the statutes authorizing the creation of the NLRB and MSPB, and that their firings went against previously established Supreme Court precedent regarding the president's power to remove individuals from independent federal agencies.[10][11]

Judge Beryl A. Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on March 6 that Wilcox should be reinstated, and on March 4, 2025, Judge Rudolph Contreras of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Harris should be reinstated.[12][13] The federal government appealed both decisions to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. An en banc panel of judges on the court upheld the lower court rulings.[14]

The federal government then filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court on April 9, 2025, saying that the Constitution did grant Trump the authority to fire Wilcox and Harris and that Supreme Court precedent preventing the president from removing certain members of independent agencies did not apply to the MSPB or the NLRB.[14] On May 22, the Supreme Court granted the federal government's request in a 6-3 decision and stayed Howell and Contreras' orders. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.[15]

Socialist political candidate’s suit against FEC fails in court (2014)

In July 2014, Judge Contreras found that Dan La Botz, an Ohio Socialist who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010, lacked standing to file suit against the Federal Election Commission (FEC). In the underlying case, La Botz filed a complaint with the FEC, alleging that he hadn’t be notified about televised debates between candidates, and was thus excluded from them. The FEC dismissed La Botz’s complaint, and La Botz brought suit twice in the D.C. Circuit in response. By the time La Botz filed his second suit, he had moved to New York, which led the FEC to claim he no longer had standing. Judge Contreras agreed, noting:

“ Here, La Botz did not have standing when he filed his complaint in 2013; though he satisfie[d] the injury and causation requirements of standing, his injury is no longer redressable.[16] ”

Articles:

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Rudolph Contreras," accessed May 10, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 White House Office of the Press Secretary, "President Obama Nominates Two to the United States District Court," July 28, 2011
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, "Current membership," accessed May 10, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, "Current Membership - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court," accessed May 19, 2021
  5. ↑ White House Office of the Press Secretary, "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate," July 28, 2011
  6. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 858 — Rudolph Contreras — The Judiciary," accessed May 10, 2017
  7. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 112th Congress," accessed May 10, 2017
  8. ↑ Associated Press, "Federal judge reinstates labor board member fired by President Donald Trump," March 6, 2025
  9. ↑ The Washington Post, "Federal judge rules Trump’s firing of merit board chair was illegal," March 4, 2025
  10. ↑ CourtListener, "WILCOX v. TRUMP," accessed June 20, 2025
  11. ↑ CourtListener, "HARRIS v. BESSENT," accessed June 20, 2025
  12. ↑ CourtListener, "Order on Motion for Declaratory Judgment," March 4, 2025
  13. ↑ CourtListener, "Order on Motion for Summary Judgment AND Order on Motion for Summary Judgment," March 6, 2025
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Supreme Court, "Wilcox-Harris Application," accessed June 20, 2025
  15. ↑ SCOTUSBlog, "Trump v. Wilcox," accessed June 20, 2025
  16. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.



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