Eleanor L. Ross Explained

Eleanor Louise Ross (née Barnwell; born December 8, 1967) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and former judge of the DeKalb County State Court.

Biography

Ross received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989, from American University. She received her Juris Doctor in 1994, from the University of Houston Law Center. She began her legal career as an assistant district attorney in Tarrant County, Texas, from 1995 to 1996. She served as an assistant solicitor general in the Office of the DeKalb County, Georgia, Solicitor General, from 1997 to 1998. From 1998 to 2002, she was a senior assistant district attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. From 2002 to 2005, she was an assistant United States attorney in the Northern District of Georgia. From 2007 to 2011, she served as executive assistant district attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. From 2011 to 2014, she served as a judge on the DeKalb County state court.^[1]

Federal judicial service

On December 19, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Ross to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, to the seat vacated by Judge Charles A. Pannell Jr., who assumed senior status on January 31, 2013.^[2] She received a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on May 13, 2014.^[3] On June 19, 2014, her nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote.^[4] On November 12, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on her nomination. On November 17, 2014, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 66–29 vote.^[5] On November 18, 2014, she was confirmed by a voice vote.^[6] She received her judicial commission on November 20, 2014.

Notable rulings

• In November 2018 Ross ruled against then Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp whose office delayed 50,000 voting registration applications placed on hold due to Georgia's “exact-match” law, requiring that personal information on voter applications match what is on state databases.^[7] Her ruling allowed some 3,000 naturalized U.S. citizens to vote in elections and prevent the state from throwing out some absentee ballots.^[8]
• In August 2020, Ross ordered Georgia to extend the deadline for receiving absentee ballots by three days.^[9] That decision was later stayed by a split panel of the Eleventh Circuit.^[10]
• She presided over the tax evasion trial of Todd and Julie Chrisley, reality TV personalities from Chrisley Knows Best In June 2022, they were found guilty. Ross sentenced Todd Chrisley to 12 years and Julie Crisley to 7 years in prison.^[11]

Personal life

She is married to Brian Ross, a DeKalb County judge^[12] and former Clayton County prosecutor.^[13]

See also

• List of African-American federal judges
• List of African-American jurists

Notes and References

1. Web site: President Obama Nominates Eight to Serve on the United States District Courts. whitehouse.gov. National Archives. 19 December 2013.
2. Web site: Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate. whitehouse.gov. National Archives. 19 December 2013.
3. Web site: Judicial Nominations. 13 May 2014 . United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
4. Web site: Executive Business Meeting. Committee on the Judiciary. United States Senate. 19 June 2014.
5. Web site: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Eleanor Louise Ross, of Georgia, to be U.S. District Judge). United States Senate. 17 November 2014.
6. Web site: PN1231 — Eleanor Louise Ross — The Judiciary. congress.gov. 1 November 2022.
7. Web site: U.S. courts rule against Georgia on voter suppression cases . Caspani . Maria . Harte . Julia . 2018-11-02 . Adler . Leslie . reuters.com . en-US . 2018-11-09 . Ahmann . Tim.
8. Web site: Judge Rules Against Georgia Election Law, Calling It A 'Severe Burden' For Voters . Van Sant . Shannon . 2018-11-03 . NPR.org . en . 2018-11-09.
9. Web site: Judge Orders Georgia to Extend Deadline for Absentee Ballots . BrumBack . Kate . . 2020-08-31 . en . 2021-02-12.
10. Web site: Court reinstates Georgia's Election Day mail ballot deadline. Associated Press. 2 October 2020.
11. November 21, 2022. Television personalities sentenced to years in federal prison for fraud and tax evasion. May 13, 2023.
12. Web site: Brian Ross . LinkedIn.
13. Web site: Judge Eleanor Ross, a 'Warrior' With a 'Big Heart' – Daily Report.