Rya W. Zobel

Rya W. Zobel
Senior Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Incumbent
Assumed office April 1, 2014
Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office March 23, 1979 – April 1, 2014
Nominated by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	seat created
Succeeded by	Allison Dale Burroughs
Personal details
Born	Rya Weickert Zobel December 18, 1931 Zwickau, Germany
Alma mater	Radcliffe College (now Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study) Harvard Law School

Rya Weickert Zobel (born December 18, 1931) is a Senior United States District Court Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Life and career

Born in Zwickau, Germany, Zobel received an A.B. from Radcliffe College in 1953 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1956. She was a law clerk to George C. Sweeney, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts from 1956 to 1966. She was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979.

On January 25, 1979, Zobel was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts created by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 21, 1979, and received her commission on March 23, 1979. Among her judicial duties, she was director of the Federal Judicial Center from 1995 to 1999. She assumed senior status on April 1, 2014.

Sources

• Rya W. Zobel at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.