NCJW supports Nusrat J. Choudhury. Here’s why:
Ms. Choudhury currently serves as the Roger Pascal Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois. Prior to joining the ACLU, Ms. Choudhury clerked forJudge Barrington D. Parker on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Denise Cote on the Southern District of New York. Ms. Choudhury is a first-generation attorney who has, through her career with the ACLU, illustrated a serious understanding and commitment to social justice. She has worked in a variety of areas, such as government transparency, criminal law and policing reform, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equity, reproductive justice, and more that could come before the court. If confirmed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Ms. Choudhury would be the first Muslim woman and Bangladeshi American to sit on a federal bench.
Nusrat J. Choudhury’s stance on important issues:
Racial Justice and Criminal Law Reform:
Prior to her work with the ACLU of Illinois, Ms. Choudhury served as the Deputy Director of the national ACLU Racial Justice Program. Here, she led the organization’s efforts to challenge racial profiling, stop-and-frisk, and other issues that disproportionately target and effect people of color and people experiencing poverty. Additionally, Ms. Choudhury assisted in attaining the first federal court decision to reverse the US government’s No Fly List procedures which were in violation of due process. Ms. Choudhury has also worked to secure public records regarding the FBI’s racial and ethnic mapping program, and brought a successful suit to eliminate NYPD’s unjust profiling of Muslims for surveillance.
Immigration:
Ms. Choudhury has demonstrated a commitment to protecting immigrants through litigation to protect those seeking asylum from alarming detention conditions.
Education and Awards:
Nusrat J. Choudhury earned her BA, summa cum laude, from Columbia University in 1998, her MPA from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 2006, and her JD from Yale Law School in 2006. In 2010, Ms. Choudhury received the “Access to Justice Award” from the South Asian Bar Association of New York, and in 2017 received the “Edward P. Bullard Distinguished Alumni Award” from her alma mater, Princeton.
Professional Affiliations:
Ms. Choudhury is a member of multiple bar associations, including the Illinois State Bar Association and the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago. She also serves as counsel for community organizations in Chicago which work to enforce a federal consent decree to reform policing.