Judge Dabney Friedrich
District of Columbia U.S. District Court
Patricia Dabney Langhorne Friedrich was born on June 19, 1967, in Pensacola, Florida. She graduated magna cum laude from Trinity University, earned a diploma in legal studies from University College, Oxford, and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
She clerked for Judge Thomas Hogan in the District of Columbia U.S. District Court and served on the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California and then Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. She served as associate counsel to President George W. Bush, then as a trial attorney in the Justice Department. She served as commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission until 2017.
Friedrich was nominated by President Trump to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was confirmed by the Senate in November 2017 and received her commission the following month.
She is married to Matthew Friedrich.
In the News…
Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich has ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority in issuing a moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus pandemic. The order from the District of Columbia U.S. District Court judge vacates the nationwide eviction moratorium in a case brought by an association of realtors against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The temporary halt to evictions originally placed in 2020 had been extended through July 30, 2021. The order by the CDC claimed to mitigate the spread of the virus by preventing tenants from homelessness or crowded shelter living conditions.
Judge Friedrich ruled that “the plain language of the [Public Health Service Act] unambiguously forecloses the nationwide eviction moratorium.” She stated that the PHSA “authorizes the Department [of Health and Human Services, through the CDC] to combat the spread of disease through a range of measures, these measures plainly do not encompass the nationwide eviction moratorium set forth in the CDC Order.”
Judge Friedrich said that Congress clearly did not intend for the health service act to grant the CDC nearly unlimited power.
An appeal has been filed by the Justice Department and an emergency stay has been allowed while the case is considered by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Friedrich today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Dabney L. Friedrich
U.S. District Court for District of Columbia
333 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
