James Robertson

Who is James Robertson?

James Robertson was a United States federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia until his retirement in June 2010. He served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 2002 until he resigned in protest in December, 2005, later testifying that that court “has turned into something like an administrative agency.”

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Robertson graduated from Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, and received a B.A. from Princeton University in 1959. He served in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1964, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. He then received an LL.B. from George Washington University Law School in 1965, and was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1965 to 1969, with the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. From 1969 to 1972, Robertson served with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, as chief counsel of the Committee’s litigation offices in Jackson, Mississippi, and as director in Washington, D.C. Robertson then returned to private practice with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, where he practiced until his appointment to the federal bench.