T. S. Ellis, III
Encyclopedia
Thomas Selby Ellis III (born May 15, 1940, Bogotá, Colombia), an American jurist. Ellis is currently serving as judge
on the United States District Court
in the Eastern District of Virginia
.
Ellis was educated at Princeton University
where he earned a B.S.E. in 1961.
as a Naval aviator from 1961 to 1966. He flew a wide range of historically significant aircraft during this time, including:
Ellis chose not to qualify as an R4D pilot, allegedly in order to avoid lengthy and boring assignments flying that aircraft. On at least one occasion while acting as pilot in command of an R4D, he departed the runway during takeoff due to strong crosswinds. Fortunately, the R4D had strong landing gear, designed for use on turf runways, and there was no damage to the aircraft, the facility, or to Ellis himself.
Currently, Ellis (who intends to obtain his private pilot's certificate) occasionally flies a 1979 Piper Cherokee
Warrior II civilian aircraft, accompanied by that aircraft's owner.
in 1969, where he served as a member of the Board of Student Advisers. He also received a Diploma in Law in 1970 from Oxford University. There he befriended Bernard Rix
, now The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Rix. Ellis then entered private practice with the law firm of Hunton & Williams
(now Hunton & Williams LLP) where he remained until 1987. His practice included a wide range of commercial litigation matters. He often worked with fellow Hunton & Williams attorney John Charles Thomas
, who became Virginia's first African-American Supreme Court Justice. Ellis also was a lecturer at the College of William and Mary
, from 1981 to 1983.
on July 1, 1987, to a seat vacated by Robert R. Merhige. He was confirmed by the Senate
on August 5, 1987.
After two decades of work as a full-time federal district judge, Judge Ellis took Senior Status in April 2007. He continues to hear cases in the Eastern District of Virginia, and also has been empowered to hear cases in the Western District of Virginia. Judge Ellis also occasionally sits by designation on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
. He once famously dissented from a ruling of that Court by citing one of his own district court decisions.
. He imposed a sentence of 20 years for two charges, aiding the Taliban and carrying weapons while committing a felony. He also imposed the Son of Sam law banning him from profiting from books written about his case.
, a pro-Israel lobby group. In 2009, he altered the sentence to 10 months at a halfway house and community service, but chastised Franklin for not following "the rule of law".
On August 9, 2006, Ellis denied a motion to dismiss the case of two former AIPAC employees. Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman were charged under the Espionage Act
with illegally receiving and transmitting national defense information. Ellis wrote:
This ruling was expected to have significant implications for freedom of the press
and the First Amendment
. Charges against Rosen and Weissman were dropped in 2009 by the government, which claimed in part that Ellis had placed too many barriers on its ability to prosecute the case successfully.
United States v. Rosen was also a pioneering use of the silent witness rule
in a courtoom. The rule allows for sensitive (classified, or otherwise) evidence to be hidden from the public, but available to the jury & counsel, by the use of 'substitution' such as 'key cards'. Most previous attempts by the government to use the rule had been banned by various judges or the case had been settled before trial. Judge Ellis was the first to allow it, although he limited it to 4 minutes of use at trial, and devised a 'fairness test' as to whether the rule should be allowed, and to how much it would make the trial 'closed'. Critics worried about the Fifth amendment
due process
and Sixth amendment
Confrontation Clause
implications of the use of this rule. In particular, Ellis describes it as a 'partial closing' of the trial, while the sixth amendment guarantees a public trial
.
For more detail, please see the articles on Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal and United States v. Franklin.
, a German citizen, against the CIA and three private companies allegedly involved with his kidnapping, transport, and torture in Kabul
. Ellis explained his belief that a public trial would "present a grave risk of injury to national security"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4996140.stm, though acknowledging that:
.
Ellis is fond of reminding criminal defendants that "life is about making choices and living with the consequences."
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
on the United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
in the Eastern District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia...
.
Ellis was educated at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
where he earned a B.S.E. in 1961.
Career as a Naval Aviator
Ellis served in the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a Naval aviator from 1961 to 1966. He flew a wide range of historically significant aircraft during this time, including:
- the F9F-8 Cougar carrier-based fighter (an improved, swept-wing variant of the F9F PantherF9F Panther|-Popular culture:The Panther played a prominent role in the 1954 movie Men of the Fighting Lady . The F9F was featured in the flying sequences in the 1954 movie The Bridges at Toko-Ri, although in the 1953 James A...
) - the F-4 Phantom IIF-4 Phantom IIThe McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
carrier-based fighter (with VF-74VF-74VF-74, Fighter Squadron 74, Be-Devilers was an aviation unit of the United States Navy in service from 1944 to 1994.-History:VF-74 was established on 16 April 1945 as VBF-20 flying the F4U-1 Corsair from NAS Wildwood in New Jersey. After six months they transitioned to the F6F Hellcat but soon...
, the first squadron to operate that aircraft) - the Grumman S-2 Tracker (known at that time as the S2F or "Stoof"), the Navy's last piston-engined aircraft, and
- the R4D, the Navy's version of the famed Douglas C-47 SkytrainC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
.
Ellis chose not to qualify as an R4D pilot, allegedly in order to avoid lengthy and boring assignments flying that aircraft. On at least one occasion while acting as pilot in command of an R4D, he departed the runway during takeoff due to strong crosswinds. Fortunately, the R4D had strong landing gear, designed for use on turf runways, and there was no damage to the aircraft, the facility, or to Ellis himself.
Currently, Ellis (who intends to obtain his private pilot's certificate) occasionally flies a 1979 Piper Cherokee
Piper Cherokee
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of light aircraft designed for flight training, air taxi, and personal use. It is built by Piper Aircraft....
Warrior II civilian aircraft, accompanied by that aircraft's owner.
Private Practice of Law
Ellis earned a J.D. from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1969, where he served as a member of the Board of Student Advisers. He also received a Diploma in Law in 1970 from Oxford University. There he befriended Bernard Rix
Bernard Rix
Sir Bernard Anthony Rix , styled The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Rix, is an English judge, who has been a Lord Justice of Appeal since 2000.-Family:...
, now The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Rix. Ellis then entered private practice with the law firm of Hunton & Williams
Hunton & Williams
Founded in 1901, Hunton & Williams LLP is a US law firm that employs more than 800 lawyers. It has been called "one of the most well-connected legal and lobbying firms in DC." The firm was founded in Richmond, Virginia and has 18 other offices throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. In...
(now Hunton & Williams LLP) where he remained until 1987. His practice included a wide range of commercial litigation matters. He often worked with fellow Hunton & Williams attorney John Charles Thomas
John Charles Thomas
John Charles Thomas was a popular American opera, operetta and concert baritone.-Birth, schooling and stage debut:...
, who became Virginia's first African-American Supreme Court Justice. Ellis also was a lecturer at the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
, from 1981 to 1983.
Judicial Appointment
Ellis was nominated by President Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
on July 1, 1987, to a seat vacated by Robert R. Merhige. He was confirmed by the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on August 5, 1987.
After two decades of work as a full-time federal district judge, Judge Ellis took Senior Status in April 2007. He continues to hear cases in the Eastern District of Virginia, and also has been empowered to hear cases in the Western District of Virginia. Judge Ellis also occasionally sits by designation on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
. He once famously dissented from a ruling of that Court by citing one of his own district court decisions.
John Walker Lindh
Ellis presided over the plea bargain and sentencing of "American Taliban" John Walker LindhJohn Walker Lindh
John Phillip Walker Lindh is a United States citizen who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States' 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. He is now serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with his participation in Afghanistan's Taliban army...
. He imposed a sentence of 20 years for two charges, aiding the Taliban and carrying weapons while committing a felony. He also imposed the Son of Sam law banning him from profiting from books written about his case.
Franklin, Rosen, and Weissman
On January 20, 2006, Ellis sentenced former Defense Department employee Lawrence Franklin to 12 years and 7 months in prison and a $10,000 fine for passing "national defense" to an Israeli diplomat and AIPACAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...
, a pro-Israel lobby group. In 2009, he altered the sentence to 10 months at a halfway house and community service, but chastised Franklin for not following "the rule of law".
On August 9, 2006, Ellis denied a motion to dismiss the case of two former AIPAC employees. Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman were charged under the Espionage Act
Espionage Act of 1917
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime...
with illegally receiving and transmitting national defense information. Ellis wrote:
- ...both common sense and the relevant precedent point persuasively to the conclusion that the government can punish those outside of the government for the unauthorized receipt and deliberate retransmission of information relating to the national defense." (p. 53)http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/rosen080906.pdf.
This ruling was expected to have significant implications for freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
and the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. Charges against Rosen and Weissman were dropped in 2009 by the government, which claimed in part that Ellis had placed too many barriers on its ability to prosecute the case successfully.
United States v. Rosen was also a pioneering use of the silent witness rule
Silent witness rule
The silent witness rule is the use of 'substitutions' when referring to sensitive information in the United States open courtroom jury trial system. The phrase was first used in US v. Zettl, in 1987. An example of a substitution method is the use of code-words on a 'key card', to which witnesses...
in a courtoom. The rule allows for sensitive (classified, or otherwise) evidence to be hidden from the public, but available to the jury & counsel, by the use of 'substitution' such as 'key cards'. Most previous attempts by the government to use the rule had been banned by various judges or the case had been settled before trial. Judge Ellis was the first to allow it, although he limited it to 4 minutes of use at trial, and devised a 'fairness test' as to whether the rule should be allowed, and to how much it would make the trial 'closed'. Critics worried about the Fifth amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
and Sixth amendment
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions...
Confrontation Clause
Confrontation Clause
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him." Generally, the right is to have a face-to-face confrontation with witnesses who are...
implications of the use of this rule. In particular, Ellis describes it as a 'partial closing' of the trial, while the sixth amendment guarantees a public trial
Public trial
Public trial or open trial is a trial open to public, as opposed to the secret trial. The term should not be confused with show trial.-United States:...
.
For more detail, please see the articles on Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal and United States v. Franklin.
Khalid El-Masri
On Thursday, May 18, 2006, Ellis dismissed a lawsuit filed by Khalid El-MasriKhalid El-Masri
Khalid El-Masri is a German citizen who was kidnapped in the Republic of Macedonia, flown to Afghanistan, allegedly beaten, stripped, raped, and interrogated and tortured by the CIA for several months as a part of the War on Terror, and then released...
, a German citizen, against the CIA and three private companies allegedly involved with his kidnapping, transport, and torture in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. Ellis explained his belief that a public trial would "present a grave risk of injury to national security"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4996140.stm, though acknowledging that:
- If El-Masri's allegations are true or essentially true, then all fair-minded people, including those who believe that state secrets must be protected, that this lawsuit cannot proceed, and that renditions are a necessary step to take in this war, must also agree that El-Masri has suffered injuries as a result of our country's mistake and deserves a remedy.http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/25606prs20060519.html
Others
As of 2009 he was the judge in the case of former United States Representative William J. JeffersonWilliam J. Jefferson
William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...
.
Ellis is fond of reminding criminal defendants that "life is about making choices and living with the consequences."
Notable Decisions
this section needs to be expanded- El-Masri v Tenet (order) (pitt.edu)
- Franklin sentence reduction hearing (fas.org)
See also
- False Claims ActFalse Claims ActThe False Claims Act is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies who defraud governmental programs. The law includes a "qui tam" provision that allows people who are not affiliated with the government to file actions on behalf of the government...
- Espionage Act
- First AmendmentFirst Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
- AIPAC espionage scandalAIPAC espionage scandalThe Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal refers to Lawrence Franklin's scandal of passing classified documents regarding United States policy towards Iran to Israel through American Israel Public Affairs Committee...
- Classified Information Procedures ActClassified Information Procedures ActThe Classified Information Procedures Act or , is codified as the third appendix to Title18 of the U.S. Code, the title concerning crimes and criminal procedures. The U.S. Code citation is .-Legislative Revision History:...
- United States v. Franklin, Rosen, and WeissmanUnited States v. Franklin, Rosen, and WeissmanUnited States v. Franklin, Rosen, and Weissman was a 2000s era court case in the United States. The government prosecuted one government employee and two lobbyists for allegedly disclosing national defense information to persons 'not entitled' to have it, a crime under the Espionage Act of 1917...