Strickland v. United States of America et al

  1. April 23, 2024

    Ex-Public Defender Wants 4th Circ. To End Wait In Bias Suit

    A former public defender suing the federal judiciary for allegedly failing to take her sexual harassment claims seriously asked the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday to force a federal judge's hand after more than four months without a ruling following a bench trial, saying a decision on her long-pending bid for a preliminary injunction is overdue.

  2. April 19, 2024

    Ex-Defender Says High Court Ruling Backs Bias Claims

    A former assistant federal defender urged a North Carolina district court to consider a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in her sexual harassment lawsuit, arguing the high court's decision backs her claims for employment discrimination against the federal judiciary.

  3. January 10, 2024

    Ex-Defender Says Impostor Syndrome Affects Women More

    A former assistant federal defender followed up on claims she made about impostor syndrome during her sexual harassment trial against the judiciary, telling the court that academic studies and a Ninth Circuit decision support her assertion that the phenomenon largely affects women.

  4. January 04, 2024

    Judge Questions Ex-Fed. Defender's Case As Bias Trial Wraps

    A former assistant federal defender for North Carolina's Western District established that her manager "appeared to have been hostile" toward her, but there is "real doubt" that her treatment was based on gender bias, a Massachusetts federal judge said Thursday.

  5. January 03, 2024

    Ex-Defender Says 4th Circ. Letter Proves Harassment Case

    A former federal defender who claims the judiciary mishandled her complaints about workplace sexual harassment told a Boston federal judge Wednesday that a critical letter from a top Fourth Circuit judge is a "roadmap" to finding the government liable in the closely watched bench trial.

  6. December 18, 2023

    Federal Defender Admits 'Stupid' Email, Denies Harassment

    A former first assistant federal defender testified Monday that he sent a "stupid" email claiming he knew a way to boost a subordinate's salary, and texts to a colleague suggesting that the woman be "smacked" and "slapped," but denied harassment under cross-examination by the accuser.

  7. December 14, 2023

    Ex-Federal Defender's Testimony Disputes Retaliation Claim

    A former federal defender for North Carolina's Western District testified in a federal bench trial Thursday that when an attorney in his office was pulled off a high-profile case, it was not in retaliation for her sexual harassment claims against a supervisor but because she was "not a team player."

  8. December 11, 2023

    Ex-Defender's Sex Harassment Case Trimmed As Trial Starts

    A former federal public defender being represented by her husband failed to offer any evidence to support her claim that her sexual harassment complaint would be decided by one of her immediate superiors, a Boston federal judge ruled Monday, tossing out one claim in a suit against the judiciary on the first day of trial.

  9. December 05, 2023

    Married Attys To Face Off Against Judiciary In Their 1st Trial

    A former North Carolina federal public defender is preparing to try her own case accusing the judiciary of bungling an investigation into her sexual harassment claim, capping off a thorny litigation path that left her with only her husband as co-counsel after the abrupt departure of her legal team.

  10. November 28, 2023

    4th Circ. Denies Ex-Defender's Bid To Hurry Harassment Trial

    The Fourth Circuit said Tuesday it won't interfere with the trial schedule in a former public defender's sexual harassment case against the federal judiciary, rejecting the attorney's arguments that the district court has moved too slowly on her preliminary injunction request.