Judge Keith P. Ellison: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Keith P. Ellison is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He was nominated to the bench by former President Bill Clinton on January 26, 1999, filling a seat vacated by the Hon. Norman William Black. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 1999.

Prior to his appointment, Ellison worked as an attorney in private practice in Houston. During his tenure there, he was active in a number of public interest efforts, including the presentation of individuals seeking asylum in the United States.

Ellison earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1972. He subsequently completed a second bachelor’s degree at Magdalen College of Oxford University through the Rhodes Scholarship (1974). Then, in 1976, he received a J.D. at Yale Law School. As a law student, he sat as editor of the Yale Law Journal.

He is licensed to practice in Oklahoma (1979), Texas (1985), and New York (1993).

After graduating from law school, Ellison began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. J. Skelly Wright of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He served in that capacity until 1977, at which time he began clerking for the Hon. Harry Blackmun of the Supreme Court of the United States.

His memberships have included the Gulf Coast Legal Foundation and the American-South African Scholarship Association. He has also been involved with Houston Achievement Place.

Ellison was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.