Moxila Upadhyaya, an Indian-American judge, grabbed the headlines when she presided over the appearance of former US president Donald Trump in a case related to him allegedly orchestrating a plot to try to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Here are 5 facts about judge Moxila Upadhyaya:
Born in Gujarat, Moxila A Upadhyaya was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge on September 7, 2022.
She received her JD, cum laude, from the American University, Washington College of Law, where she earned distinction for her trial work representing clients in the Criminal Justice Clinic and was a member of the Administrative Law Review.
During her stint as an associate and ultimately partner at Venable, Judge Upadhyaya took up several pro-bono cases representing indigent clients in post-conviction proceedings.
For her work in this capacity, the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project awarded Judge Upadhyaya its Defender of Innocence Award in 2009 and Venable named her Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year in 2006.
During the Trump hearing, the Indian-American judge reprimanded the former US president telling him that he cannot bribe or influence witnesses. A House committee that probed the 2021 Capitol Hill riots found out that Trump and his associates tried to contact and influence a witness in that probe.
