Patricia Head Minaldi
| Patricia Head Minaldi | |
|---|---|
| Judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana | |
|
Assumed office May 9, 2003 | |
| Nominated by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | James T. Trimble Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1959 (age 56–57) Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
Wesleyan University Tulane University Law School |
Patricia Head Minaldi (born 1959) is a District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. She joined the court in 2003 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
Early life and education
Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Minaldi graduated from Wesleyan University with her Bachelor's degree in 1980 and later from Tulane University School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree in 1983.
Legal career
Following law school graduation, Minaldi was an Assistant district attorney of New Orleans from 1983 to 1986. She was an Assistant district attorney of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana from 1986 to 1996. She was a judge on the 14th Judicial District Court, Louisiana from 1996 to 2003.
Federal Judicial Career
Minaldi was nominated to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. by President George W. Bush on January 15, 2003 to a seat vacated by Judge James Trimble as Trimble reached senior status. Minaldi was confirmed by the Senate on May 6, 2003 on a Senate vote and received her commission on May 9, 2003.
Notable cases
In the summer of 2009, Minaldi dismissed the court case against a man who mailed hoax anthrax and bomb threats in the wake of 9/11.
In 2004, a federal jury convicted Stephen Michael Long on charges of threatening to use weapons of mass destruction, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in April 2009 overturned his conviction and 30-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors pushed to bring the case back to trial in 2009, but those plans could be frustrated by the dismissal from Judge Minaldi. She has not yet ruled whether prosecutors will be allowed to begin the criminal process anew against Long or whether he will be allowed to go free.[1]
Arrest and Guilty Plea
Minaldi was arrested Thursday, January 23, 2014 for having an open alcoholic beverage inside her vehicle. The Lake Charles Police department responded to a traffic complaint involving Minaldi and stopped her white Ford Thunderbird at her residence. Minaldi was arrested, issued a summons and released.[2]
On February 14, 2014, Minaldi was additionally charged with a DWI following a police investigation. That investigation included review of in-car video footage which was released to a local news organization. The video shows Minaldi declining a field sobriety request, refusing officer instructions, and being forcibly removed from her car.[3][4] Weeks later, on February 27, 2014, Minaldi pleaded guilty to first-offense DWI in Lake Charles city court. She was sentenced to a year of probation, levied a $400 fine, and is required to attend church as a condition of her probation.[5]
Sources
- Patricia Head Minaldi at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
References
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Travis Trimble, Jr. |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana 2003–present |
Incumbent |
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