Angel Kelley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Angel Kelley
Kelley in 2021
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Incumbent
Assumed office September 15, 2021
Appointed by	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Douglas P. Woodlock
Judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court
In office 2013 – September 15, 2021
Appointed by	Charlie Baker
Judge of the Brockton District Court
In office 2009–2013
Appointed by	Deval Patrick
Personal details
Born	1967 (age 57–58) New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Education	Colgate University (BA) Georgetown University (JD) Temple University (LLM)

Angel Kelley, born in 1967, is an American lawyer and judge. She currently serves as a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Before this important role, she was a judge in the Massachusetts Superior Court.

Early Life and Education

Angel Kelley was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1967. She studied at Colgate University, where she earned her first degree in 1989. She then went to Georgetown University and became a lawyer in 1992. Later, she continued her studies at Temple University, earning an advanced law degree in 2003.

Legal Career and Teaching

Kelley started her legal career helping young people at The Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn, New York, from 1993 to 1997. After that, she worked as a lawyer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey until 2005.

From 2007 to 2009, she worked as an Assistant United States Attorney. This means she was a lawyer for the U.S. government in Massachusetts.

Besides her work as a lawyer, Angel Kelley also taught law. She was an instructor at Columbia University and New York University. She also taught at Harvard Law School. Since 2012, she has been a professor at Suffolk University Law School. She has also taught at Emory University School of Law and Boston University School of Law.

Becoming a Judge

State Judge Service

In 2009, Angel Kelley became a judge for the first time. She was appointed to the Brockton District Court by Governor Deval Patrick. She officially started her role on September 17, 2010.

A few years later, in 2013, she was chosen to be a judge for the Massachusetts Superior Court. This is a higher court in the state. She was confirmed for this position on January 24, 2013.

Federal Judge Service

Angel Kelley at a U.S. Senate hearing

On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Angel Kelley to become a federal judge. This is a very important job, as federal judges handle cases that involve U.S. laws. She was nominated for a position in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Her nomination was reviewed by the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. On September 14, 2021, the United States Senate voted to confirm her. She officially became a federal judge on September 15, 2021.

Judge Kelley is a significant figure in the legal world. She is the second African American female judge and the second Asian American judge to serve on the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.

Important Decisions

Judge Kelley has made important rulings in her role. For example, in February 2025, she made a decision about how the NIH (National Institutes of Health) would fund research grants. The NIH had planned to limit the money given to universities for their research costs.

However, Judge Kelley issued an order that stopped this new rule from taking effect. She later expanded her ruling to cover universities across the entire country. On March 5, 2025, she issued a preliminary order that blocked the funding limit indefinitely while the case continued.

Then, on April 4, 2025, Judge Kelley made her decision permanent. She permanently stopped the government from limiting the funding for research at universities and medical centers. This decision restored billions of dollars in grant money and was one of the first major rulings against the Trump administration's policies at that time.

See also

• List of African-American federal judges
• List of African-American jurists
• List of Asian American jurists