Karen L. Henderson

Karen LeCraft Henderson
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Assumed office
July 5, 1990
Appointed by George H. W. Bush
Preceded by Ken Starr
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
In office
June 16, 1986 – July 11, 1990
Appointed by Ronald Reagan
Preceded by William Walter Wilkins
Succeeded by Dennis Shedd
Personal details
Born (1944-06-11) June 11, 1944
Oberlin, Ohio
Education Duke University (B.A.)
University of North Carolina School of Law (J.D.)

Karen LeCraft Henderson (born July 11, 1944) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Early life, education, and career

Born and raised in Oberlin, Ohio, Henderson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in 1966 and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1969. Henderson then entered private practice in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. From 1973 to 1983, she was with the Office of the South Carolina Attorney General, ultimately in the position of Deputy Attorney General. In 1983, she returned to private practice as a member of the firm of Sinkler, Gibbs & Simons of Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina.[1]

Federal judicial service

On June 3, 1986, Henderson was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by Judge William Walter Wilkins. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 13, 1986, and received her commission on June 16, 1986. Her service terminated on July 11, 1990, due to elevation to the District of Columbia Circuit.[1]

On May 8, 1990, President George H. W. Bush nominated Henderson to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that had been vacated by the resignation of Kenneth Starr to become Solicitor General of the United States. The Senate confirmed Henderson on June 28, 1990 by unanimous consent, and she received her commission on July 5, 1990.[1]

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

In 2008, Henderson, ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a statute that applies by its terms to all "persons" did not apply to detainees at Guantánamo.[2]

Parker v. District of Columbia

In Parker, et al. v. District of Columbia (2007) Henderson authored a dissent in which she wrote "the right of the people to keep and bear arms relates to those Militia whose continued vitality is required to safeguard the individual States."[3] She also wrote that "the Constitution, case law and applicable statutes all establish that the District is not a state within the meaning of the Second Amendment".[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Henderson, Karen LeCraft - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  2. ↑ "Guantanamo detainees are not human beings - US judges".
  3. ↑ "D.C.'s Ban On Handguns In Homes Is Thrown Out". www.washingtonpost.com.
  4. ↑ The Seat Congress Can't Offer.

Sources

Legal offices
Preceded by
William Walter Wilkins		 Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
1986–1990		 Succeeded by
Dennis Shedd
Preceded by
Ken Starr		 Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
1990–present		 Incumbent
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