Debra Ann Livingston

Debra Ann Livingston (born April 15, 1959) is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Early life and education Livingston was born in Waycross, Georgia, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1980 and a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1984, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Career Livingston served as a law clerk for Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after graduating from law school. From 1986 to 1991, she was an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York, where she handled criminal cases, including the prosecution of Ferdinand Marcos, former President of the Philippines. After working as a legal consultant to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Livingston was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a New York City law firm. From 1994 to 2003, she served as commissioner of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board. From 1992 to 1994, Livingston taught criminal procedure and evidence at the University of Michigan Law School. almost one year after she was first nominated. She received her commission on May 17, 2007. She became chief judge on September 1, 2020.

In February 2026, Livingston announced that she would assume Senior Status on July 1, 2026.