Barbara Keenan

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Barbara Keenan
Image of Barbara Keenan
United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (senior status)
Tenure

2021 - Present

Years in position

3

Prior offices
United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit

Education

Bachelor's

Cornell University, 1971

Graduate

University of Virginia School of Law, 1992

Law

George Washington University Law Center, 1974

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Barbara Milano Keenan is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. She was appointed to the court by President Barack Obama.[1][2][3][4]

Keenan assumed senior status on August 31, 2021.[5]

Education

Keenan received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, her J.D. from George Washington University in 1974, and her LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1992.[4]

Professional career

Judicial career

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Barbara Milano Keenan
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 169 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: September 14, 2009
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: October 7, 2009
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: October 29, 2009 
ApprovedAConfirmed: March 2, 2010
ApprovedAVote: 99-0


President Obama nominated Keenan for a federal judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.[6][7] Keenan was recommended to the president for nomination by Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner on June 2, 2009.[8] The American Bar Association rated Keenan Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[9] Hearings on Keenan's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on October 7, 2009, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on October 29, 2009. Keenan was confirmed on a recorded 99-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 2, 2010, and she received her commission on March 9, 2010.[4][10]

Keenan assumed senior status on August 31, 2021.[5]

Noteworthy cases

SCOTUS vacates Fourth Circuit ruling on narcotics analogues (2015)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (McFadden v. United States)

On June 18, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the judgment of a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in McFadden v. United States. Judge Barbara Keenan wrote the opinion of the panel.

The petitioner, Stephen McFadden, sold bath salts, an aromatherapy product that, when burned, emit a stimulating vapor. McFadden sold bath salts until he learned they were prohibited under the Controlled Substances Analogue Enforcement Act. The Act criminalized the distribution of what the statute defined as analogues to controlled substances. An analogue was defined as a substance whose chemical structure or stimulant effect is substantially similar to a controlled substance. Analogues and controlled substances are prosecuted as one in the same. The government prosecuted McFadden. At trial, McFadden argued that the government was required to prove that he was aware the bath salts were an analogue. A federal district court held that the government only needed to prove that the petitioner knew the products were intended for human consumption. A unanimous panel of the Fourth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Barbara Keenan, upheld the lower court verdict.

A unanimous Supreme Court vacated the Fourth Circuit's ruling, holding that, under the Act, the government was required to demonstrate that a criminal defendant knew the substance being sold was an analogue to a controlled substance. Justice Clarence Thomas authored the opinion of the court.[11][12]

See also

External links


Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by:
Hiram Widener
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
2010 – 2021
Succeeded by:
Toby Heytens