T. S. Ellis, III

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Thomas Selby (Tim) Ellis III (born May 15, 1940, Bogotá, Colombia), an American jurist. Ellis is currently serving as judge on the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Ellis was educated at Princeton University where he earned a B.S.E. in 1961.

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[edit] Career as a Naval Aviator

Ellis served in the United States Navy as a Naval aviator from 1961 to 1966. He flew a wide range of historically significant aircraft during this time, including:

  • the F9F-8 Cougar carrier-based fighter (an improved, swept-wing variant of the F9F Panther)
  • the F-4 Phantom II carrier-based fighter (with VF-74, the first squadron to operate that aircraft)
  • the Grumman S-2 Tracker (known at that time as the S2F or "Stoof"), the Navy's last piston-engined aircraft, and
  • the R4D, the Navy's version of the famed Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

Ellis chose not to qualify as an R4D pilot, allegedly in order to avoid lengthy and boring assignments flying that aircraft. On at least one occasion while acting as pilot in command of an R4D, he departed the runway during takeoff due to strong crosswinds. Fortunately, the R4D had strong landing gear, designed for use on turf runways, and there was no damage to the aircraft or facility.

Currently, Ellis (who intends to obtain his private pilot's certificate) occasionally flies a 1979 Piper Cherokee Warrior II civilian aircraft, accompanied by that aircraft's owner.

[edit] Private Practice of Law

Ellis earned a J.D. from Harvard University in 1969, and a Diploma in Law in 1970 from Oxford University. There he befriended Bernard Rix, now The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Rix. Ellis then entered private practice with the law firm of Hunton & Williams (now Hunton & Williams LLP) where he remained until 1987. His practice included a wide range of commercial litigation matters. He also was a lecturer at the College of William and Mary, from 1981 to 1983.

[edit] Judicial Appointment

Ellis was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 1, 1987, to a seat vacated by Robert R. Merhige. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 5, 1987.

After two decades of work as a full-time federal district judge, Judge Ellis took Senior Status in April 2007. He continues to hear cases in the Eastern District of Virginia, and also has been empowered to hear cases in the Western District of Virginia. Judge Ellis also occasionally sits by designation on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He once famously dissented from a ruling of that Court by citing one of his own district court decisions.

[edit] Record and Rulings

On January 20, 2006, Ellis sentenced former Defense Department employee Lawrence Franklin to 12 years and 7 months in prison and a $10,000 fine for passing classified information to an Israeli diplomat and AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby group.

On August 9, 2006, Ellis denied a motion to dismiss the case of two former AIPAC employees. Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman were charged under the Espionage Act with illegally receiving and transmitting classified information. Ellis wrote:

...both common sense and the relevant precedent point persuasively to the conclusion that the government can punish those outside of the government for the unauthorized receipt and deliberate retransmission of information relating to the national defense." (p. 53)[1].

This ruling is expected to have significant implications for freedom of the press and the First Amendment.

For full details, see Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal.

On Thursday, May 18, 2006, Ellis dismissed a lawsuit filed by Khalid El-Masri, a German citizen, against the CIA and three private companies allegedly involved with his kidnapping, transport, and torture in Kabul. Ellis explained his belief that a public trial would "present a grave risk of injury to national security"[2], though acknowledging that:

If El-Masri's allegations are true or essentially true, then all fair-minded people, including those who believe that state secrets must be protected, that this lawsuit cannot proceed, and that renditions are a necessary step to take in this war, must also agree that El-Masri has suffered injuries as a result of our country's mistake and deserves a remedy.[3]

Ellis also presided over the plea bargain and sentencing of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh.

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