Judge Carl Nichols
District of Columbia U.S. District Court
Carl John Nichols was born in June 1970 in Rhinebeck, New York. He earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Dartmouth College and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. He clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, then clerked for Associate Justice Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court.
Nichols worked in private practice and later joined the U.S. Department of Justice as a deputy assistant attorney general for the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division. He later became Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General, leaving government service to rejoin private practice specializing in regulatory legislation.
President Donald Trump nominated Nichols to be a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. His nomination went to the Senate and was reported out of the committee in an 11-10 vote; however, the nomination expired before the end of the congressional year. He was renominated for the federal judgeship, reported out of committee 12-10, and confirmed by the Senate in a 65-43 vote. He received his commission in June 2019.
In the News…
In late September, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued a preliminary injunction that barred the U.S. Commerce Department from ordering Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google app stores to remove TikTok for download by new users.
Judge Nichols must now decide whether to block the other aspects of the Commerce Department order set to take effect on November 12. He has scheduled that hearing for November 4, one day after the presidential election.
TikTok is a Chinese-owned short-video sharing app that gives a creative outlet, particularly to school-age children.
The Trump Administration contends TikTok poses national security concerns as personal data collected on 100 million Americans who use the app could be obtained by the Chinese government.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Nichols today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Carl Nichols
U.S. District Court for the D.C. Circuit
E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse
333 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
