Leonie Milhomme Brinkema

Leonie Milhomme Brinkema, respected as a fair, thoughtful, and diligent jurist, began her legal career in 1976 working for the U.S. Department of Justice. Increasingly significant appointments followed, including her service as a federal prosecutor and appointment as U.S. Magistrate for the Eastern District of Virginia. In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the U.S. District Court, where she serves as judge for the Eastern District of Virginia. Her major rulings include two widely publicized internet-related freedom of speech cases, a landmark road-rage proceeding, the sentencing of a former Australian intelligence agent for attempted espionage, and the upholding of the federal law barring protesters from blocking entrances to abortion clinics. Among her many assignments was one that has brought her to the attention of the world: the hearing of the federal government's case against Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person to be charged in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In early 2004, she convicted three men charged with being part of the "Virginia jihad network" and who allegedly trained to support terrorists.