Douglas P. Woodlock

Who is Douglas P. Woodlock?

Douglas Preston Woodlock is a United States federal judge.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Woodlock received a B.A. from Yale University in 1969, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1975. He was a law clerk, Hon. Frank J. Murray, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1976. He was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1976 to 1979. He was a Chairman, Board of Appeals for the Town of Hamilton, Massachusetts from 1978 to 1979. He was an assistant U.S. Attorney of the District of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983. He was an Instructor, Harvard Law School, 1980 in 1981. He was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1983 to 1986. He was a Chairman, Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services from 1984 to 1986.

Woodlock is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Woodlock was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on April 22, 1986, to a seat vacated by W. Arthur Garrity, Jr.. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 13, 1986, and received his commission on June 16, 1986.

In 2008, Woodlock issued a Temporary Restraining Order in the case of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority v. Anderson, et al., Civil Action No. 08-11364, preventing four MIT students from revealing weaknesses in the MBTA's "Charlie Card" fare system. This was widely viewed as unconstitutional prior restraint of the students free speech and Woodlock did not renew the TRO when it expired.