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Lydia Kay Griggsby, District Judge

6500 Cherrywood Lane
Suite 400
Greenbelt, MD  20770
(410) 962-7700


Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby was sworn in as a United States District Judge on July 23, 2021.  She was nominated by President Biden on March 30, 2021, and confirmed by the Senate on June 16, 2021.  Prior to her confirmation, Judge Griggsby served as a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims since her appointment by President Barack Obama on December 5, 2014.  Judge Griggsby served as the Chair of the Court’s Committee on Legislation and Policy.  On December 12, 2019, Judge Griggsby received the Loren A. Smith Award, the highest award the Court bestows for service on its behalf. 

Prior to her appointment, Judge Griggsby served as the Chief Counsel for Privacy and Information Policy for the Senate Judiciary Committee, a position to which she was appointed by Senator Patrick Leahy in 2009.  During her tenure on the Committee, Judge Griggsby was the lead Senate counsel on several pieces of legislation enacted by Congress to reform the Freedom of Information Act, including the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the OPEN FOIA Act of 2009.  Judge Griggsby was also the lead Senate counsel on legislation enacted by Congress to amend the Video Privacy Protection Act.

In 2004, Judge Griggsby was appointed counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.  Prior to this appointment, Judge Griggsby served six years as an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2004, where she litigated complex civil matters before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Between 1995 and 1998, Judge Griggsby was a Trial Attorney with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice, where she litigated complex civil matters before the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  Prior to her appointment to the Department of Justice, Judge Griggsby was an associate with the law firm of DLA Piper, LLP.

Judge Griggsby has appeared frequently at conferences to speak on issues related to government procurement law, trial advocacy, the Freedom of Information Act, cybersecurity and privacy in the digital age.  She is affiliated with several public service and social organizations, including, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, The Links, Incorporated and The Society, Incorporated.  Judge Griggsby also serves as a mentor for the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women.  She is a member of the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association. 

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Judge Griggsby is a graduate of the Park School of Baltimore.  She earned a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in public policy political science from the University of Pennsylvania.