Gerald Bruce Lee

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Gerald Bruce Lee (born 1952 in Washington, D.C.) is currently serving as judge on the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia, commonly referred to as the "Rocket Docket.".

[edit] Education and career highlights

Lee was educated at American University where he earned a B.A. in 1973, and a J.D. in 1976 from American University's Washington College of Law. Lee worked in private practice in Fairfax County, Virginia until 1992, when he became a Circuit court judge on the 19th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, Fairfax Circuit Court. Lee was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 22, 1998, to a seat vacated by James C. Cacheris. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 28, 1998.

Biography - As a Judge

Prior to his appointment to the United States District Court, Judge Lee was a trial judge with the 19th Judicial Circuit of Virginia (Fairfax) for six and one-half years. As a Circuit Court Judge in Virginia’s largest and busiest trial court, he tried a wide variety of cases, both jury and non-jury. His trial docket included cases involving commercial law, products liability, personal injury, medical malpractice, contracts, and criminal law.

During his tenure on the Fairfax Bench, Judge Lee was an active member of the Virginia Judges Judicial Conference. He served on two key committees of the conference, the Circuit Court Judicial Education Committee, and the Circuit Court Judges Bench Book Committee. He served as Chairman of the Judicial Educational Committee, and was responsible for ongoing training and continuing education programs for 150 state trial judges. Judge Lee served as a member of the Bench Book Committee, where he was responsible for editing and updating the Virginia Judges’ courtroom reference text, the Virginia Circuit Court Judges Benchbook.

Judge Lee has been a member of the legal community for twenty-five years. Subsequent to his appointment to the Fairfax Circuit Court in 1992, he became known throughout the legal community for his handling of complex civil cases, his efforts to improve the court’s use of technology, and his commitment to community service. Judge Lee lives by his motto, “To whom much is given, much is expected”.

Biography - Before Becoming a Judge

Prior to ascending to the bench, Judge Lee was a trial lawyer for fifteen years, representing individuals and businesses in civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts. He was a partner at Cohen, Dunn & Sinclair, an Alexandria, Virginia, law firm.

As an attorney, Judge Lee was involved in a number of notable cases. He was one of the first to assert the “battered woman defense” in a murder case in 1978 and his client was acquitted of murder. He successfully defended a Vietnam veteran in a criminal case and arranged for the veteran to receive proper medical treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and drug treatment. As counsel for local civil rights organization he defended the principal of a local high school against disciplinary action after school officials learned he was in an interracial marriage. He defended a number of corporations against commercial and employment claims.

Judge Lee was an active member of the Virginia State Bar. He was an elected member of the Virginia State Bar Council, Chairman of the General Practice of Law Section, President of the Northern Virginia Black Attorneys Association, and Chairman of the Judicial Selection Committee of the Alexandria Bar Association.

In 1990, Governor Douglas Wilder appointed Lee to serve on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the managers of Washington National and Dulles International Airports. During his tenure on the board both airports were in the midst of modernization and expansion.

When he was under consideration for the appointment, Judge Lee’s credentials were reviewed by twelve bar associations. Judge Lee received the highest rating possible for all twelve bar associations for the appointment. Judge Lee was recommended for appointment to the federal court by Virginia’s senators Chuck Robb and John Warner in April, 1998. He was confirmed by the Senate in unanimous vote for his life time appointment as a United States District Judge on September 28, 1998.

[edit] Notable Cases

Judge Lee is notable for having presided over the cases of:

Brian Patrick Regan, former Air Force master sergeant convicted of espionage
Jay Lentz, who was acquitted of the kidnapping and murder of his ex-wife, but later convicted on retrial before Judge T.S. Ellis, III
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, convicted of providing material support to Al-Qaeda and a conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States