Judge Angel Kelley
Massachusetts U.S. District Court
Angel Kelley was born in 1967 in New Rochelle, New York. She earned an undergraduate degree from Colgate University, a Master of Laws in trial advocacy from Temple University, and her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.
She began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society in the Juvenile Rights Division in Brooklyn, New York, serving four years. For eight years, she was an attorney for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She later served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
She was a part-time instructor at Columbia University and New York University, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School, and part-time adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School and at Boston University School of Law.
In her judicial career, she has served on the Massachusetts District Court and Massachusetts Superior Court. She was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was confirmed by the Senate and received her commission in September 2021.
In the News…
The Satanic Temple (TST) sued the Boston City Council in January 2021, arguing that the council violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the free exercise clause of the Massachusetts Constitution by not inviting the satanists to “pray” before their meetings.
In October, the TST tried to subpoena a city councilor for a deposition at their Salem, Massachusetts location. The date they set for the deposition was election day, and the councilor was the frontrunner in the Boston mayoral race, and the city responded that she would not be available and asked TST to reschedule. The city also offered TST a list of 47 others who might be able to testify.
Attorneys for TST refused to reschedule.
In rejecting their claims over the deposition, the judge said TST had acted “in bad faith” by using questionable tactics, accusing the group merely of trying to gain publicity.
Judge Kelley said, “It is exceptionally bad faith to intentionally notice deposition for a date and time when a party knows the deponent will be unavailable or greatly inconvenienced.” She reproved TST for its motives, saying it was “distancing from the significance” of its own case by using tactics that its own layer admitted were designed “to get the attention of the public.” She said that type of behavior “does a disservice to the gravity of the constitutional claims at issue.”
Despite the rebuke, the satanists’ legal battle will proceed in the courts.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Kelley today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Angel Kelley
Massachusetts U.S. District Court
1 Courthouse Way
Boston, MA 02210
