Mustafa T. Kasubhai

Mustafa T. Kasubhai
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 22, 2024
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byAnn Aiken
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
In office
September 21, 2018 – November 22, 2024
Preceded byJolie A. Russo
Judge for the Lane County Circuit Court
In office
2007–2018
Appointed byTed Kulongoski
Personal details
Born1970 (age 55–56)
Reseda, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BS)
University of Oregon (JD)
WebsiteDistrict Court Webpage

Mustafa Taher Kasubhai (born 1970)[1] is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon since 2024. He previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the same court from 2018 to 2024 as well as a judge on the Lane County Circuit Court from 2007 to 2018. He is the first Muslim to serve as a federal judge in the United States.[note 1]

Early life and career

Kasubhai was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Reseda in the San Fernando Valley in 1970,[1] and grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Canoga Park. His parents were Gujarati Dawoodi Bohra Indian immigrants, having moved to the United States from Mumbai in the 1960s.[2]

Kasubhai graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992 with a degree in business administration. He completed his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Oregon School of Law in 1996.[3]

Kasubhai began his private legal career in a small civil plaintiff's firm until he opened his own practice, the Law Offices of Mustafa T. Kasubhai.[3] He worked primarily between Klamath Falls and Eugene, Oregon, representing workers and unions in workers compensation cases and plaintiffs in civil cases primarily involving torts and work-related injuries.[4]

In 2003, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski nominated Kasubhai to serve on the Oregon Workers' Compensation Board as one of its labor members in Salem, Oregon.[2] He remained there until joining the state bench in 2007.[4]

Judicial career

Governor Kulongoski appointed Kasubhai as a judge on the Lane County Circuit Court in 2007.[3] He was re-elected to another six-year term in 2014.[2]

Kasubhai is the first South Asian-American and Muslim judge to be appointed to the Lane County Circuit Court.[5] Following his appointment as a magistrate judge for the District of Oregon in 2018, he became the first Muslim-American to serve as a federal judge in the United States.[6][7]

Mustafa T. Kasubhai U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing - October 4, 2023

Federal judicial service

On June 1, 2023, Kasubhai was one of six names U.S. senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley submitted to the White House for a vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Oregon created by Marco A. Hernandez, who subsequently assumed senior status on August 21, 2024.[8]

On September 6, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Kasubhai to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.[9] On September 18, 2023, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Kasubhai to the seat being vacated by Judge Ann Aiken, who subsequently assumed senior status on December 29, 2023.[10] On October 4, 2023, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[11] During his confirmation hearing, Republican senators questioned him over a ruling that he made in 2020 regarding the George Floyd protests and his statements and writings about diversity, equity, and inclusion.[12] Kasubhai was also questioned on guidance he created for the use of preferred pronouns and honorifics in his courtroom, and whether he was a Marxist based on his past writings.[13] On November 9, 2023, his nomination was favorably reported out of committee by a party-line 11–10 vote.[14][15] On November 13, 2023, his nomination was returned to the Judiciary Committee because of issues regarding proxy voting in committee.[16] On November 30, 2023, his nomination was reported out committee by an 11–0–8 vote with all committee Republicans in attendance not voting.[17] On January 3, 2024, his nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate[18] and he was renominated on January 8, 2024.[19] On January 18, 2024, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 party-line vote.[20][21] In June 2024, a cloture vote to advance Kasubhai's nomination was set to take place in the U.S. Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cancelled the planned vote, citing attendance issues. According to Bloomberg Law, "Kasubhai has faced intense opposition from GOP lawmakers who've said that he's too radical for the federal bench."[22] On November 19, 2024, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–43 vote.[23] Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–44 vote.[24] He received his judicial commission on November 22, 2024.[25]

Notable cases

In State of New York v. United States Department of Energy (2025), Kasubhai blocked a U.S. Department of Energy policy that limited reimbursement of indirect and employee-benefit costs for state and local government grants to 10 percent of the total award. He held that the policy conflicted with federal regulations requiring agencies to recognize negotiated indirect-cost rates, vacated the policy, and enjoined the department from implementing it. The Department of Energy subsequently rescinded the policy and voluntarily dismissed its appeal.[26]

In United States v. Oregon (2026), Kasubhai dismissed a Department of Justice lawsuit seeking Oregon's unredacted statewide voter-registration records, which included information such as full dates of birth, driver's-license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. He concluded that the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 did not authorize the federal government to compel production of the requested information.[27] The decision is currently on appeal in the Ninth Circuit.[28]

In M-J-M-A- v. Wamsley (2026), Kasubhai issued a preliminary injunction restricting warrantless civil-immigration arrests in Oregon. Kasubhai's order required immigration officers making an arrest without a warrant to first make an individualized determination, supported by probable cause, that the person was likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained.[29]

In Oregon v. Kennedy (2026), Kasubhai granted summary judgment to a coalition of states challenging a declaration issued by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. concerning gender-affirming medical care for minors. The declaration stated that such care did not meet professionally recognized standards and asserted that providers offering it could be excluded from federal programs including Medicare and Medicaid. Kasubhai held that the declaration exceeded the department's statutory authority, had been issued without required notice-and-comment procedures, and improperly displaced state-recognized standards of medical care. He vacated the declaration and enjoined the department from enforcing it or a materially similar policy against providers in the plaintiff states.[30][31]

In Renshaw v. General Services Administration (2026), Kasubhai granted a preliminary injunction sought by Eugene-area activists challenging a security fence that prevented public access to much of the plaza surrounding the Eugene Federal Building. The building had been the site of recurring protests against immigration enforcement and the Trump administration. The General Services Administration announced plans for the fence after a January 30, 2026 protest was declared a riot by Eugene police following damage to the building, including broken windows. The agency said the fence barrier was necessary to protect federal employees, visitors, and the facility.[32][33] Kasubhai concluded that the plaintiffs were likely to establish that the plaza was a traditional public forum and that closing nearly the entire area was not narrowly tailored to the government's security interests. Kasubhai ordered the General Services Administration to remove the fence, while permitting more limited security measures immediately surrounding the building's entrances and windows. After a brief administrative stay during appellate proceedings, the fence was removed in July 2026.[34][35][36]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Kasubhai became the first Muslim to serve as a federal judge following his appointment as a Magistrate Judge for the District of Oregon. Kasubhai was not the first Muslim Article III judge however, as Zahid Quraishi was confirmed to the District of New Jersey prior to Kasubhai's respective confirmation to the District of Oregon

References

  1. 1 2 "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Newton, Cynthia (2019). "Multnomah Bar Lawyer, page 11" (PDF). Multnomah Bar Association.
  3. 1 2 3 Voruganti, Harsh (23 October 2023). "Mustafa Kasubhai – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon". The Vetting Room. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  4. 1 2 Bailey, Kirk. "New judge brings changes to Lane County court". Oregon Quarterly. Fall 2009: 48.
  5. ↑ "Oregon Federal District Court Appoints First Muslim American to be a Federal Judge". Archived from the original on February 26, 2019.
  6. ↑ Shumway, Julia (November 27, 2024). "Oregon's Newest U.S. District Court Judge was the First Muslim American to Serve on the Federal Bench". The Corvallis Advocate. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  7. ↑ Shumway, Julia (November 19, 2024). "U.S. Senate confirms Mustafa Kasubhai as Oregon district judge". Oregon Capital Insider. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  8. ↑ Names of 6 finalists forwarded to White House for upcoming federal court vacancy in Oregon, retrieved 2023-06-01
  9. ↑ "President Biden Names Thirty-Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 18, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. October 3, 2023.
  12. ↑ Raymond, Nate. "Senate Republicans question Oregon judicial nominee's support for diversity". Reuters. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Judiciary Panel Unexpectedly Delays Votes on Biden Judge". November 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – November 9, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ Headley, Tiana. "Judiciary Democrats at Full Strength Advance Biden Court Picks". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Senate Returns Two District Court Nominations to Judiciary Panel". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – November 30, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ "PN1024 — Mustafa Taher Kasubhai — The Judiciary". congress.gov. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 8, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2024" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Twenty Judicial Nominations, One Executive Nomination to the Full Senate" (Press release). United States Senate Judiciary Committee. January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  22. ↑ Headley, Tiana (June 18, 2024). "Senate Democrats Pull Vote on Trial Court Nominee Kasubhai (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  23. ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Mustafa Taher Kasubhai to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon.)". United States Senate. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  24. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Mustafa Taher Kasubhai, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon)". United States Senate. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  25. ↑ Mustafa T. Kasubhai at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  26. ↑ Mills, Taylor (November 11, 2025). "Energy Department's Cap on Financial Assistance Blocked by Judge". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  27. ↑ Rush, Claire (January 26, 2026). "Federal judge dismisses Justice Department lawsuit seeking Oregon's voter rolls". Associated Press. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  28. ↑ "On Election Day, Attorney General Rayfield Defends Voter Privacy at Ninth Circuit". Oregon Department of Justice. May 19, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  29. ↑ "ICE agents can't make warrantless arrests in Oregon unless there's a risk of escape, US judge rules". Associated Press. February 4, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Judge says he will bar RFK move aimed at cutting gender-affirming care for minors". Reuters. March 20, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  31. ↑ Merrill, Monique (March 19, 2026). "Federal judge blocks RFK declaration targeting gender-affirming care". Courthouse News Service.
  32. ↑ Wilk, Nathan (April 27, 2026). "Eugene builds new sidewalk at Federal Building in response to proposed fence". KLCC. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  33. ↑ Ziegler, Zac (May 7, 2026). "How much did the fence around Eugene's federal building cost? Contract data gives an idea". KLCC. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  34. ↑ Wilk, Nathan (June 22, 2026). "Judge orders fence around Eugene Federal Building to be removed". KLCC. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  35. ↑ Adame, Jaime (June 22, 2026). "Judge grants activists' request to open plaza, orders removal of fence at Eugene Federal Building". Lookout Eugene-Springfield. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  36. ↑ "The Fence has Fallen". Eugene Weekly. July 2, 2026. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
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