Patricia M. Wald
How Judge Wald rules, drawn from 28 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Wald no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Wald
Patricia McGowan Wald was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter, Judge Wald received a commission on July 26, 1979. Judge Wald retired on November 16, 1999.
How Judge Wald decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
A Title VII plaintiff need not prove discriminatory motive as part of the prima facie case. Showing facts that rule out lack of qualification or an unavailable position raises the inference that requires an employer explanation.
“the prima facie case in a suit alleging individual discrimination does not require a showing of discriminatory motive.”
In United States v. Nomad, Wald reversed a conviction under a Park Service noise rule because the agency had not justified the rule’s fit to speech in Lafayette Park, a public forum.
“Where constitutionally protected activity is implicated, we cannot simply defer to the Park Service’s unexplained judgment.”
Procedural preferences
When an agency’s precedents impose conflicting obligations, the agency must articulate a comprehensible standard that regulated parties and adjudicators can apply consistently.
“the Board’s precedents dealing with ‘polling,’ videotaping, and the free speech rights of employers create conflicting mandates, and that the Board has yet to articulate a clear standard to guide employers, employees, and its own administrative law judges in reconciling these mandates.”
Cautions
An agency seeking summary judgment under a public-records exemption must describe the documents and its justification in enough detail for independent review. Affidavits or indices that merely repeat the statutory standard are inadequate.
“its affidavits or Vaughn indices, must not merely recite the statutory standards.”
In U.S. International Trade Commission v. Tenneco West, Wald rejected the agency’s standing argument because its unspecified fear that future investigations would be chilled did not establish Article III injury.
“The ITC’s contentions regarding injury boil down to a fear that its future investigations will be chilled; such unspecific fear of future injury cannot suffice to provide standing under Article III.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“we affirm the conviction because counsel failed to object to those remarks as inaccurate at trial”
“The Commission’s decision to grant the three challenged license renewals is affirmed.”
“We affirm the EPA’s refusal to make any adjustment as a result of introducing the coastdown technique as an alternative measuring device for determining road load power settings. We reverse the agency’s decision to make adjustments for the use of cars with higher mileage accumulation limits only prospectively and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“Because we find that there is insufficient evidence in the record to controvert the agency’s affidavit, we affirm the District Court’s decision granting summary judgment.”
“We affirm the order.”
“Affirmed in part and remanded in part.”
“We reverse the district court’s decision granting the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the complaint, and remand with instructions for the court to enter relief consistent with this opinion.”
“The petition is accordingly dismissed.”
“we therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.”
“Accordingly, we vacate the district court’s judgment to the extent that it reached the merits of appellant’s claims against these five agencies, and remand with instructions to dismiss appellant’s claims against those agencies based on appellant’s failure to exhaust his administrative remedies.”
“We now reverse and remand for the district court to determine whether the seal in fact prohibits the DOJ from disclosing the notes to the public.”
A historical record
Judge Wald no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.