{{Short description|American federal judge (born 1956)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | honorific_suffix = | image = Beryl Howell (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Howell in 2018 | office = [[Senior Status|Senior Judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] | term_start = February 1, 2024 | term_end = | office1 = Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] | term_start1 = March 16, 2016 | term_end1 = March 16, 2023 | predecessor1 = [[Richard W. Roberts]] | successor1 = [[James Boasberg]] | office2 = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] | term_start2 = December 27, 2010 | term_end2 = February 1, 2024 | appointer2 = [[List of federal judges appointed by Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] | predecessor2 = [[Paul L. Friedman]] | successor2 = [[Amir Ali (judge)|Amir Ali]] | pronunciation = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|12|3}} | birth_place = [[Fort Benning]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = [[Bryn Mawr College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Columbia Law School|Columbia University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]]) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = Beryl A. Howell Signature.svg | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''Beryl Alaine Howell''' (born December 3, 1956) is an American attorney and jurist who serves as a [[Senior status|senior]] [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia]]. She was appointed to the District of Columbia federal court in 2010 by President [[Barack Obama]], and she served as its chief judge from 2016 to 2023. As chief judge, she supervised federal [[grand juries]] in the district, including for the [[Mueller special counsel investigation]] into [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections]] and investigations into [[attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election]].<ref name = Burt>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-neuborne-mueller-grand-juries-20181129-story.html|title=Trump may fire Mueller, but he can't fire Mueller's grand jury|last=Neuborne|first=Burt|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=November 29, 2018 |access-date=November 30, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Charlie |title=Gavel to Pass to New Chief Judge Overseeing Grand Jury in Trump Inquiry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/us/politics/trump-judge-james-boasberg.html |work=The New York TImes |date=March 13, 2023}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Howell was born in 1956 in [[Fort Benning]]. She is the daughter of an [[U.S. Army]] officer.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/meet-the-judge-who-just-released-200-secret-government-surveillance-requests/2016/09/23/4ddb1266-7b50-11e6-beac-57a4a412e93a_story.html|title=This judge just released 200 secret government surveillance requests|last=Hsu|first=Spencer|date=September 26, 2016|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> She attended elementary and secondary school in six states and Germany.<ref name="Howell2010">{{Cite press release |title=President Obama Names Five to United States District Court |date=July 14, 2010 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-names-five-united-states-district-court-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118172241/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-names-five-united-states-district-court-0 |archive-date=January 18, 2017 |access-date=March 1, 2023 |url-status=bot: unknown }} {{PD-notice}}</ref>
Howell graduated from [[Bryn Mawr College]] in 1978 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in [[philosophy]] with honors. From 1978 to 1980, Howell worked as a legal assistant at the law firm Shanley & Fisher (now part of [[Faegre Drinker]]). She then attended [[Columbia Law School]], graduating in 1983 with a [[Juris Doctor]] as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.<ref name="fjc.gov">{{FJC Bio|nid=1393581}}</ref>
==Career==
After law school, Howell was a [[law clerk]] for Judge [[Dickinson R. Debevoise]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]] from 1983 to 1984. From 1985 to 1987, she was in private practice as an associate at the [[New York City]] law firm of [[Schulte Roth & Zabel]].<ref name="Howell2010" /><ref name="fjc.gov"/>
From 1987 to 1993, Howell was an [[assistant United States attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York]], where she became deputy chief of the Narcotics section.<ref name=ArsBio>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/03/riaa-lobbyist-becomes-federal-judge-rules-on-file-sharing-cases/ |title=RIAA lobbyist becomes federal judge, rules on file-sharing cases |date=March 28, 2011 |last=Anderson | first=Nate |publisher=[[Ars Technica]] |access-date=March 4, 2013}}</ref> From 1993 to 2003, Howell served on the staff of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary]] as a senior advisor to Chairman [[Patrick Leahy]], including as the committee's [[general counsel]] starting in 1997.<ref name="fjc.gov"/>
While working for Senator Leahy, Howell helped craft the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)#The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996|E-FOIA amendments]], which expanded electronic access to government records.<ref name=Bryn2003>{{cite web |url=http://www.brynmawr.edu/sandt/2003_october/practicing.html |title=Practicing at the Intersection of Law, Policy and Technology |work=Science and Technology newsletter |publisher=[[Bryn Mawr College]] |date=October 2003 |access-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105080931/http://www.brynmawr.edu/sandt/2003_october/practicing.html |archive-date=January 5, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She also helped Sen. Leahy fend off proposals to impose new limits on the FOIA.<ref name=Bryn2003/> In 2001, she was honored by the Coalition to Support and Expand the Freedom of Information Act,<ref name=Bryn2003/> and in 2004, her FOIA work was honored by the [[Society of Professional Journalists]].<ref name=ArsBio/>
Howell was involved in crafting numerous pieces of legislation for the investigation and prosecution of [[computer crime]] and [[copyright infringement]], including the [[Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act]],<ref name=Leahy2010/> the [[National Information Infrastructure Protection Act]],<ref name=Leahy2010/> the [[Computer Fraud and Abuse Act]],<ref name=Leahy2010/> the [[Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act]] (CALEA),<ref name=Stroz_bio>{{cite web| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012022052/http://www.strozllc.com/professionals/xprProfessionalDetails1.aspx?xpST=ProfessionalDetail&professional=6 | title=Stroz Friedberg LLC – Professionals – Howell, Beryl A. |publisher= Stroz Friedberg, LLC |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |url=http://www.strozllc.com/professionals/xprProfessionalDetails1.aspx?xpST=ProfessionalDetail&professional=6 |access-date=March 6, 2013 }}</ref> the [[No Electronic Theft Act]] (NET Act),<ref name=ArsBio/><ref name=Stroz_bio/> the [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]] (DMCA),<ref name=ArsBio/><ref name=Leahy2010/><ref name=Stroz_bio/> and the [[Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999]].<ref name=ArsBio/><ref name=Stroz_bio/>
Howell was involved in national security issues,<ref name=CDT_bio/> including the creation of the [[USA PATRIOT Act]],<ref name=ArsBio/><ref name=Stroz_bio/> which she defended in 2005 in an article for the ''[[Pennsylvania Bar Association]] Quarterly''.<ref name=PBAQ/>
The [[Center for Democracy and Technology]] lists Howell as a "board alum".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdt.org/staff | title=Staff | publisher=[[Center for Democracy and Technology]] |access-date=March 4, 2013}}</ref>
From 2004 to 2010, she served as a member of the United States Sentencing Commission after being appointed by President [[George W. Bush]].<ref name="Howell2010" /><ref name=ArsBio/>
=== Champion Award === In November 2023 at a meeting of the Women's White Collar Defense Association, Howell received the Champion Award for people who advance opportunities for women in "the white collar field".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Awards Program - Women's White Collar Defense Association |url=https://www.wwcda.org/event/awards-program |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=www.wwcda.org}}</ref> In her acceptance speech, she said: "My D.C. judicial colleagues and I regularly see the impact of big lies at the [[Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack|sentencing of hundreds, hundreds of individuals who have been convicted for offense conduct on Jan. 6, 2021]], when they disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election at the U.S. Capitol." She also cited historian [[Heather Cox Richardson]]’s book, ''Democracy Awakening''.<ref>{{Citation |title=2023 WWCDA Awards Gala Full Video | date=November 30, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNDnJWh1gzE |access-date=2023-12-16 |publisher=YouTube |language=en}}</ref> The next month, Representative [[Elise Stefanik]], a Republican from New York, filed a complaint of judicial misconduct in which she alleged that Howell's remarks were "conduct unbecoming of a federal judge".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rajkumar |first=Shruti |date=2023-12-16 |title=Rep. Elise Stefanik Lodges Complaint Against Judge Who Oversaw Jan. 6, Trump Cases |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elise-stefanik-complaint-against-judge-beryl-howell_n_657ccab5e4b036ecab4508f0 |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>
===Lobbying=== From 2004 to 2009,<ref name=ArsBio/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=31911|title=Revolving Door: Beryl A Howell Employment Summary – OpenSecrets|website=www.opensecrets.org}}</ref><ref name=EFF201211>[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/11/us-copyright-surveillance-machine-about-be-switched-on U.S. Copyright Surveillance Machine About To Be Switched On, Promises of Transparency Already Broken], [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]], November 15, 2012.</ref> Howell was executive vice president,<ref name=Bryn2003/> executive managing director,<ref name=CDT_bio>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdt.org/personnel/beryl-howell |title=Beryl Howell |publisher=[[Center for Democracy and Technology]] |access-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412173902/http://www.cdt.org/personnel/beryl-howell |archive-date=April 12, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and general counsel<ref name=CDT_bio/> at Stroz Friedberg, a global digital risk management and investigations firm. Howell's work at Stroz Friedberg included [[lobbying]] on behalf of the [[Recording Industry Association of America]],<ref name=ArsBio/><ref name=EFF201211/><ref name=RIAA_lobbying>RIAA lobbying data (public record) as published by OpenSecrets.org for [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000581&year=2004 2004], [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000581&year=2005 2005], [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000581&year=2006 2006], [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000581&year=2007 2007], [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000581&year=2008 2008], and [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000581&year=2009 2009].</ref><ref name=Stroz_lobbying>Stroz Frieberg lobbying data (public record) as published by OpenSecrets.org for [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmlbs.php?id=F27199&year=2004 2004], [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmlbs.php?id=F27199&year=2005 2005], [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmlbs.php?id=F27199&year=2006 2006], [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmlbs.php?id=F27199&year=2007 2007], and [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmlbs.php?id=F27199&year=2008 2008].</ref> and, briefly, [[Universal Music Group]].<ref name=ArsBio/><ref name=UMG_lobbying>Stroz Frieberg lobbying data (public record) as published by OpenSecrets.org for [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmlbs.php?id=F27199&year=2005 2005]</ref>
In 2008, Howell served as a member of the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, sponsored by bipartisan [[think tank]] [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]].<ref name=CDT_bio/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/110523_cyberspace_members.pdf | title=Commission Members | publisher=[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] | access-date=March 4, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604162934/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/110523_cyberspace_members.pdf | archive-date=June 4, 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
=== Academic ===
Howell teaches legal ethics as an adjunct professor at the [[American University]]'s [[Washington College of Law]].<ref name=Leahy2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16114a4&wit_id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16114a4-0-0 |title=Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Nomination Of Beryl Howell To Be A United States District Court Judge For The District Of Columbia |date=July 28, 2010 |access-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216110049/http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16114a4&wit_id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16114a4-0-0 |archive-date=December 16, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wcl.american.edu/faculty/howell/ |title=The Honorable Beryl Howell : Adjunct Professor of Law |publisher=American University Washington College of Law |work=Faculty |access-date=April 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317181746/http://www.wcl.american.edu/faculty/howell/ |archive-date=March 17, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Federal judicial service===
[[File:Naturalization-30 (29613128232).jpg|thumb|Howell presiding over a [[naturalization ceremony]], 2016]]
On July 14, 2010, Howell was nominated by President [[Barack Obama]] to the United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seat being vacated by Judge [[Paul L. Friedman]], who assumed [[senior status]] on December 31, 2009.<ref name="Howell2010" /><ref>{{Cite press release |title=Presidential Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate, 7/14/10 |date=July 14, 2010 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-nominations-and-withdrawal-sent-senate-71410 |access-date=July 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716103629/http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-nominations-and-withdrawal-sent-senate-71410 |archive-date=July 16, 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 22, 2010. She received her judicial commission on December 27, 2010. She served as the chief judge from March 17, 2016, to March 17, 2023. She assumed senior status on February 1, 2024.<ref name="fjc.gov"/> A 2015 analysis by Ravel Law found Howell to be the second most-cited district court judge appointed in the previous five years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://abovethelaw.com/2015/04/judging-the-judges-who-are-the-most-cited-new-jurists-on-the-federal-bench/?rf=1|title=Judging The Judges: Who Are the Most-Cited New Jurists On The Federal Bench?|last=Kassam|first=Kerry|date=April 23, 2015|work=Above the Law}}</ref>
=== Notable decisions ===
==== Hodge v Talkin ==== In 2011, Harold Hodge Jr. stood outside the U.S. Supreme Court wearing a sign that protested the American government's treatment of black and Hispanic people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/supreme-court-issues-new-rule-barring-protests-on-plaza/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 |title=Supreme Court Issues New Rule Barring Protests on Plaza |work=New York Times |date=June 13, 2013 |access-date=September 25, 2014}}</ref> He did so in violation of a 1949 federal law that makes such protests a crime. Hodge sued the [[Marshal of the United States Supreme Court]] and the [[U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia]] under the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]. In a June 2013 decision, Howell struck down the law as violating the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://watchdog.org/172646/supreme-court-speech/ |title=Protester challenges Supreme Court speech-free zone |publisher=Watchdog.org |access-date=September 25, 2014 |archive-date=September 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916033856/http://watchdog.org/172646/supreme-court-speech/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The judge wrote, "The absolute prohibition on expressive activity in the statute is unreasonable, substantially overbroad and irreconcilable with the First Amendment." The defendants appealed the decision to the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia]], which reversed Howell's decision and reinstated the law as it applies to the Supreme Court Plaza and steps. ''Hodge v. Talkin'', 799 F. 3d 1145 (D.C. Cir. 2015).
==== FEC and anonymous dark money ==== In 2018, Howell struck down a regulation of the [[Federal Election Commission]] allowing [[dark money]] groups, certain nonprofit organizations engaged in political activities, to conceal their donors. She wrote that the regulation "blatantly undercuts the congressional goal of fully disclosing the sources of money flowing into federal political campaigns, and thereby suppresses the benefits intended to accrue from disclosure."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Griffiths |first1=Brent D. |title=Judge's ruling invalidates FEC regulation allowing anonymous donations to 'dark money' groups |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/04/campaigns-dark-money-groups-donors-anonymous-ruling-762440 |access-date=May 22, 2021 |work=Politico |date=August 4, 2018}}</ref> The Supreme Court later declined to review the decision.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Michelle Ye Hee |last2=Barnes |first2=Robert |title=Political nonprofits must now name many of their donors under federal court ruling after Supreme Court declines to intervene |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/political-nonprofits-must-now-name-many-of-their-donors-under-federal-court-ruling-after-supreme-court-declines-to-intervene/2018/09/18/851ea210-bb72-11e8-9812-a389be6690af_story.html |access-date=May 22, 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=September 18, 2018}}</ref>
==== Robert Mueller grand jury ==== {{Main|Mueller special counsel investigation}} In that same year, Howell became the supervising judge for the grand jury working for special counsel [[Robert Mueller]]'s investigation into [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections]].<ref name="Burt" /> On October 25, 2019, she ruled in favor of the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]], which had sought grand jury materials from the [[Mueller special counsel investigation|Mueller investigation]], finding their [[Impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump|impeachment inquiry]] into President [[Donald Trump]] to be a judicial proceeding.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/us/politics/house-impeachment-subpoenas.html|title=Impeachment Inquiry Is Legal, Judge Rules, Giving Democrats a Victory|first1=Charlie|last1=Savage|first2=Emily|last2=Cochrane|newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 25, 2019}}</ref> Justice Department attorneys had previously asserted that congressional investigators had "not yet exhausted [their] available [[Discovery (law)|discovery]] tools,” arguments Howell said "smack of farce," as the administration had openly stated it would [[Stonewalling|stonewall]] the investigation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/federal-judge-calls-trump-admins-legal-arguments-a-farce-in-order-filled-with-jabs-at-doj-attorneys/|title=Federal Judge Calls Trump Admin's Legal Arguments a 'Farce' in Order Filled with Jabs at DOJ Attorneys|website=lawandcrime.com|date=October 25, 2019 }}</ref>
==== Executive Order 14230 against Perkins Coie ==== {{See also|Perkins Coie#Targeting by Donald Trump}}
On March 6, 2025, citing the firm's association with [[Fusion GPS]] and [[George Soros]], President Trump issued Executive Order [[wikisource:Executive Order 14230|14230]] titled "Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP." The order suspended security clearances for the firm's employees, restricted their access to federal buildings, directed agencies to review and potentially terminate contracts with the firm, and ordered the government not to hire attorneys from the firm.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=March 6, 2025|title=Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/addressing-risks-from-perkins-coie-llp/|website=The White House}}</ref>
In May 2025, Judge Howell issued a permanent injunction blocking the executive order in its entirety; citing "No American president has ever before issued executive orders like the one... this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare who penned the phrase ''"[[Let's kill all the lawyers|The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers]]"''... The importance of independent lawyers to ensuring the American judicial systems fair and impartial administration of justice has been recognized in this country since its founding era in 1770... The instant case presents an unprecedented attack on these founding principles."<ref>{{cite web |date=May 2, 2025|title=Judge permanently blocks Trump's executive order targeting Democratic-tied law firm Perkins Coie | CNN Politics|url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/politics/perkins-coie-trump-executive-order|website=[[CNN]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The ruling against Trump's law firm order shows how to respond in this moment|url=https://www.lawdork.com/p/judge-howell-trump-perkins-coie-final-order}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Trump order punishing law firm Perkins Coie ruled unconstitutional - The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/02/trump-perkins-coie-law-firms-lawsuit/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250503214736/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/02/trump-perkins-coie-law-firms-lawsuit/|archive-date=2025-05-03|access-date=2026-02-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 5, 2025|title=A judge used Trump's own words to expose his real agenda|url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/judge-used-trumps-words-expose-real-agenda-rcna204827|website=[[MSNBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Judge strikes down Trump's executive order targeting law firm Perkins Coie|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/3/judge-strikes-down-trumps-executive-order-targeting-law-firm-perkins-coie}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Parloff|first1=Roger|date=April 25, 2025|title=A Reporter's Notes of the April 23 Perkins Coie Hearing|url=https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/a-reporter-s-notes-of-the-april-23-perkins-coie-hearing|work=Lawfare}}</ref>
==== Warrentless arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants ==== In December 2025, Howell limited warrantless immigration arrests in Washington D.C., ruling that Federal immigration officers cannot make an arrest without a warrant unless they can show probable cause that the person is a flight risk.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-02|title=Judge limits warrantless immigration arrests in DC|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/02/immigration-arrests-order-dc-00674125?cid=apn|access-date=2025-12-22|website=Politico}}</ref>
==Personal life== Howell is married to Michael Rosenfeld, an executive producer at [[National Geographic Society|National Geographic Television & Film]].<ref name=Bryn2003/> They have three children.<ref name=Bryn2003/>
==Publications== * Beryl Howell, "Lawyers on the Hook: Counsel’s Professional Responsibility to Provide Quality Assurance in Electronic Discovery", 2 ''J. Sec. L. Reg. & Compl.'' 216 (June 2009). * Beryl Howell, "Real World Problems of Virtual Crime, in Cybercrime: Digital Cops in a Networked Environment" (Jack M. Balkin et al., New York University Press 2007). * Beryl Howell & Dana J. Lesemann, "FISA’s Fruits in Criminal Cases: An Opportunity for Improved Accountability", 12 ''UCLA J. Intl. L. & For. Affairs'' 145 (Spring 2007). * Beryl A. Howell & Richard J. Wolf, "Rough Waters Ahead for E-discovery and the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," ACC Docket (January/February 2007). * Beryl Howell, "What You Need to Know About Digital Forensics," 28 ''Pa. Law.'' 32 (2006). * Beryl Howell, "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Has the Solution Become the Problem?", in Protecting What Matters: Technology, Security, and Liberty Since 9/11 (Clayton Northouse, Brookings Institution Press 2006). * Beryl Howell, "Perspectives on the USA PATRIOT Act" (''Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly'', January 2005).<ref name=PBAQ>{{cite web|title=Perspectives on the USA PATRIOT Act |url=http://www.strozfriedberg.com/files/Publication/7b493929-ab4c-4cf0-94e5-014e98218087/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/d459b7e2-02bc-49a4-bb75-39e2f64276ea/BAHPatriotActArticle.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032127/http://www.strozfriedberg.com/files/Publication/7b493929-ab4c-4cf0-94e5-014e98218087/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/d459b7e2-02bc-49a4-bb75-39e2f64276ea/BAHPatriotActArticle.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=March 4, 2013 |last=Howell |first=Beryl }}</ref> * Beryl Howell, "Seven Weeks: The Making of the USA Patriot Act", 72 ''Geo. Wash. L. Rev.'' 1145 (2004). * Beryl Howell & Eric Friedberg, 21st Century Forensics: Searching for the "Smoking Gun" in Computer Hard Drives," 37 Prosecutor 18 (2003).
== See also == * [[List of Jewish American jurists]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} *{{wikisource author-inline}} *{{FJC Bio|nid=1393581}} *{{Ballotpedia|Beryl_A._Howell}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=[[Paul L. Friedman]]}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]]}}|years=2010–2024}} {{s-aft|after=[[Amir Ali (judge)|Amir Ali]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Richard W. Roberts]]}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]]}}|years=2016–2023}} {{s-aft|after=[[James Boasberg]]}} {{s-end}} {{United States DC Circuit senior district judges}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Beryl A.}} [[Category:1956 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:21st-century American lawyers]] [[Category:21st-century American women judges]] [[Category:Assistant United States attorneys]] [[Category:Bryn Mawr College alumni]] [[Category:Columbia Law School alumni]] [[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia]] [[Category:American Jews]] [[Category:Members of the United States Sentencing Commission]] [[Category:United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama]]