Nancy E. Brasel

Nancy E. Brasel
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 13, 2018
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byAnn D. Montgomery
Judge of the Minnesota State District Court for the 4th Judicial District
In office
October 17, 2011 – September 13, 2018
Appointed byMark Dayton
Personal details
Born1969 (age 56–57)
Durham, England
EducationTrinity University (BA)
University of Texas at Austin (MA)
University of Minnesota (JD)

Nancy Ellen Brasel[1] (born 1969) is a United States federal judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Early life and education

Born in England,[2] Brasel earned her Bachelor of Arts from Trinity University in 1991, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, her Master of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993, and her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota in 1996, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as a managing editor of the Minnesota Law Review.[3]

Career

After graduating from law school, Brasel served as a law clerk to Judge Donald P. Lay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 1996 to 1997. After her clerkship, Brasel worked in private practice as an associate with the Minneapolis law firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard (now Stinson).

In 1999, Brasel became a partner at Greene Espel, P.L.L.P., where her practice focused on business law and employment law. Before her judicial appointment, she spent three years as an assistant United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, where she prosecuted narcotics and firearms offenses and white-collar crime.

In 2011, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton appointed Brasel to the state District Court of Minnesota for the Fourth Judicial District in Hennepin County, where she served until becoming a federal judge.[4][5] She is a former chair of the board of directors for the Domestic Abuse Project in Minneapolis.[6]

Federal judicial service

In 2017, Senator Amy Klobuchar recommended Brasel the Trump administration as a federal judge.[7] On February 12, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Brasel to an undetermined seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota as part of a bipartisan package of judicial nominees that included Minneapolis lawyer Eric Tostrud. On February 15, her nomination was sent to the Senate. Trump nominated Brasel to the seat vacated by Judge Ann D. Montgomery, who assumed senior status on May 31, 2016.[8] Brasel was rated "unanimously well qualified" by the American Bar Association.[9] On April 11, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[10] On May 10, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[11] On August 28, her nomination was confirmed by voice vote.[12] She received her judicial commission on September 13, 2018.[13]

Notable rulings

In October 2020, Brasel upheld a state court ruling that ballots received seven days after the 2020 election must be counted.[14]

In February 2026, Brasel ruled that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had likely violated the constitutional rights of thousands of detainees at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.[15] Brasel's emergency restraining order noted that detainees faced numerous barriers to accessing legal counsel and that "in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees".[15] Her order required the government to give non-citizens in custody the opportunity to contact legal counsel within an hour of their detention and before any transfer out of state.[15]

In May 2026, Brasel sentenced Aimee Bock to more than 41 years in prison for her part in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.[16]

Electoral history

2012[17][18]
4th Judicial District Seat 29 Results, November 6, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Nancy E. Brasel (incumbent) 308,580 98.68
None Write-ins 4,140 1.32
Majority
Total votes 100.00%

References

  1. ↑ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees
  2. ↑ Voruganti, Harsh (April 9, 2018). "Judge Nancy Brasel – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota". Vetting Room. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  3. ↑ Montemayer, Stephen (February 12, 2018). "Trump picks Hennepin County judge, Minneapolis attorney for federal judgeships". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  4. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eleventh Wave of Judicial Nominees" White House, February 12, 2018 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ Nelson, Tim (February 12, 2018). "Trump picks two new federal judges for Minn". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Gov. Dayton appoints Nancy Brasel, Philip Carruthers to fill Fourth Judicial District vacancies". Office of Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith. September 14, 2011. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Judge Nancy Brasel – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota". April 9, 2018.
  8. ↑ PN1643 — Nancy E. Brasel — The Judiciary, congress.gov
  9. ↑ Montemayor, Stephen (April 11, 2018). "Minnesota federal judicial nominees tested on Capitol Hill". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for April 11, 2018
  11. ↑ Results of Executive Business Meeting – May 10, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee
  12. ↑ "PN1643 — Nancy E. Brasel — The Judiciary". United States Senate. February 15, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  13. ↑ Nancy E. Brasel at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  14. ↑ "Federal judge upholds counting of late-arriving ballots in Minnesota". MinnPost. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 Karnowski, Steve; Boone, Rebecca (February 13, 2026). "A judge orders DHS to give Minnesota detainees swift access to lawyers before transfers". AP News. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  16. ↑ Bettin, Anthony; Leone, Beret (May 21, 2026). "Feeding Our Future fraud ringleader Aimee Bock sentenced to 41+ years in prison". CBS News. Minneapolis. Archived from the original on May 21, 2026. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Minnesota judicial elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Statewide Results for All Judicial Races". Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. November 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
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