Robert Whaley
Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!
2009 - Present
15
Robert H. Whaley is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He joined the court in 1995 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. On July 12, 2009, Whaley assumed senior status.[1][2]
Early life and education
Whaley graduated from Princeton University with his bachelor's degree in 1965, and later earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 1968.[2]
Professional career
- 1992-1995: Judge, Spokane County Superior Court
- 1972-1992: Attorney in private practice
- 1971-1972: Assistant U.S. attorney for Eastern District of Washington
- 1969-1971: Trial attorney, Land and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice
- 1968-1969: Attorney in private practice[2]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Washington
Whaley was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 24, 1995, to a seat vacated by Judge Justin Quackenbush, as Quackenbush assumed senior status. Whaley was confirmed by the Senate on June 30, 1995, and received commission on June 30, 1995.[3] Whaley served as the chief judge of the court from 2005 to 2009. He assumed senior status on July 12, 2009. Whaley was succeeded in his position by Judge Thomas Rice.[2]
Noteworthy cases
U.S. Marshals use of deadly force at issue (2015)
In January 2012, Jimmy Georgeson had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. When cornered by U.S. Marshals, however, Georgeson tried to run away. At one point, he rammed the car he was driving into U.S. Marshals cruisers. In the parking of the West Medford Albertsons, the Marshals opened fire as Georgeson attempted to drive away. Georgeson was hit and killed. He was just 20 years old.
Georgeson's family brought a wrongful death suit against the U.S. government. The government filed a motion to dismiss, which U.S. District Court Judge Robert Whaley granted in part and denied in part. The family argued that the Marshals should not have attempted to arrest Georgeson in a crowded parking lot as it violated the Marshals' own policies. The judge, however, found that the policy was not mandatory. At best, Judge Whaley said the Marshals' decision to attempt to arrest Georgeson in a parking lot of a grocery store was negligent. Unfortunately for the family, negligence is not a consideration in claims against the government in these types of cases. Because the policy of avoiding crowded areas when making arrests was not mandatory, the Marshals acted within their discretion, and this portion of the family's lawsuit was dismissed.
The family also argued that the Marshals acted wrongly when using deadly force in an effort to stop Georgeson from fleeing. The Marshals claimed that Georgeson used his vehicle as a weapon, allowing them to respond with force. Judge Whaley said that the Marshals have a mandatory policy of not using deadly force when a suspect is fleeing.
| “ | The policy of the U.S. Marshals is to use the least amount of force necessary to handle the situation.[4] | ” |
| —Judge Robert Whaley[5] | ||
Judge Whaley's full written opinion is available here.
Articles:
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Spokesman Review, "E. Washington federal judge appointment coming soon," April 13, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 FJC, "Judge Whaley's Biography"
- ↑ THOMAS, "Nomination of Robert Whaley"
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ KOBI5, "Federal judge issues order in 2012 officer-involved shooting," April 8, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Justin Quackenbush |
Eastern District of Washington 1995–2009 Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: Thomas Rice
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 |
Adams • Ambrose • Barnes • Brinkema • Bucklew • Chasanow • Coffman • Daughtrey • Ferguson • Ginsburg • Hagen • Jackson • Lancaster • Leval • Lindsay • Messitte • Michael • Piersol • Saris • Schwartz • Seybert • Shanahan • Shaw • Stearns • Trager • Vazquez • Wilken • Wilson | ||
| 1994 |
Baer • Barkett • Batts • Beaty • Benavides • Bennett • Berrigan • Biery • Block • Borman • Breyer • Briones • Bryson • Bucklo • Burgess • Burrage • Cabranes • Calabresi • Carr • Casellas • Castillo • Chatigny • Chin • Cindrich • Coar • Collins • Cooper • Cote • Currie • Davis • Dominguez • Downes • Duval • Friedman • Furgeson • Garcia • Gertner • Gettleman • Gillmor • Gilmore • Gleeson • Haggerty • Hamilton • Hannah • Hawkins • Henry • Holmes • Hood • Hull • Hurley • Jack • Jones • Jones • Kaplan • Katz • Kern • Kessler • Koeltl • Lisi • Manning • McKee • McLaughlin • Melancon • Miles-LaGrange • Moore • Motz • Murphy • O'Malley • O'Meara • Oliver • Paez • B. Parker • F. Parker • R. Parker • Perry • Ponsor • Pooler • Porteous • Rendell • Riley • Robertson • Rogers • Ross • Russell • Sands • Sarokin • Scheindlin • Silver • Squatrito • Stewart • Sullivan • Tatel • Thompson • Timlin • Urbina • Vanaskie • Vance • Walls • Wells • Williams | ||
| 1995 |
Arterton • Atlas • Black • Blake • Briscoe • Tena Campbell • Todd Campbell • Chesney • Cole • Collier • Daniel • Davis • Dennis • Dlott • Donald • Duffy • Economus • Evans • Fallon • Folsom • Gaughan • Goodwin • Heartfield • Hunt • Illston • Jones • King • Kornmann • Lawson • Lenard • Lucero • Lynch • McKinley • Moody • Moore • Moskowitz • Murphy • Murtha • Nugent • O'Toole • Orlofsky • Pogue • Sessions • C. Smith • O. Smith • Stein • Thornburg • Tunheim • Wallach • Wardlaw • Webber • Whaley • Winmill • Wood | ||
| 1996 |
Broadwater • Clevert • Fenner • Gershon • Gottschall • Greenaway • Hinkle • Jones • Kahn • Laughrey • Lemmon • Marten • Miller • Molloy • Montgomery • Pregerson • Rakoff • Sargus • Tashima • Thomas • Zapata | ||
| 1997 |
Adelman • Bataillon • Breyer • Caputo • Casey • Chambers • Clay • Damrell • Droney • Friedman • Gajarsa • Garland • Gilman • Gold • Gwin • Hall • Hayden • Hull • Ishii • Jenkins • Kauffman • Kennedy • Kimball • Kollar-Kotelly • Lazzara • Marbley • Marcus • Middlebrooks • Miller • Moon • Pratt • Rendell • Sippel • Siragusa • Snyder • Thrash | ||
| 1998 |
Aiken • Barbier • Barzilay • Berman • Buttram • Carter • Collins • Dawson • Dimitrouleas • Fletcher • Fogel • Frank • Graber • Hellerstein • Herndon • James • Johnson • Kane • Kelly • G. King • R. King • Lasnik • Lee • Lemelle • Lindsay • Lipez • Manella • Matz • McCuskey • McKeown • McMahon • Mickle • Mollway • Mordue • Moreno • Morrow • Munley • Murphy • Pallmeyer • Pauley • Polster • Pooler • Rawlinson • Ridgway • R. Roberts • V. Roberts • Sack • Scott • Seitz • Seymour • Shea • Silverman • Sleet • Sotomayor • Steeh • Story • Straub • Tagle • Tarnow • Trauger • Traxler • Tyson • Wardlaw • Whelan • Young | ||
| 1999 |
Alsup • Barry • Brown • Buchwald • Cooper • Eaton • Ellison • Feess • Fisher • Gould • Guzman • Haynes • Hibbler • Hochberg • Hurd • Huvelle • Jordan • Katzmann • Kennelly • Linn • Lorenz • Lynn • Marrero • Murguia • Pannell • Pechman • Pepper • Phillips • Schreier • Stewart • Underhill • Ward • Williams • Wilson | ||
| 2000 |
Ambro • Antoon • Battani • Berzon • Bolton • Brady • Bye • Cavanaugh • Daniels • Darrah • Dawson • Dyk • Fuentes • Garaufis • Garcia-Gregory • Hamilton • Huck • Hunt • Lawson • Lefkow • Lynch • Martin • McLaughlin • Moody • Murguia • Paez • Pisano • Presnell • Rawlinson • Reagan • Schiller • Singal • Steele • Surrick • Swain • Tallman • Teilborg • Tucker • Whittemore | ||
