USVI Public Records

Document text

The appointment of the Honorable Wilma A. Lewis to the District Court of the Virgin Islands in July 2011 was a milestone in Virgin Islands history, as she is the first woman to serve as a federal judge in the United States Virgin Islands, including as Chief Judge for the District Court from August 2013 through April 2021. Judge Lewis’ appointment to the federal bench was her fourth Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation, having previously served as Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the United States Department of the Interior, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Inspector General for the Department of the Interior. As Assistant Secretary (2009-2011), Judge Lewis led the Office charged with establishing policies for, and providing oversight to the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement at the Department of the Interior. As United States Attorney (1998-2001) — the first woman to hold that position in the District of Columbia — Judge Lewis managed and supervised the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office in the country, with over 350 attorneys, an equal number of support staff personnel, and the unique responsibility of serving as both federal and local prosecutor. As Inspector General (1995-1998), Judge Lewis managed and supervised a staff of 300 in 12 offices throughout the United States and its territories charged with conducting investigations and audits designed to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse, and to promote economy and efficiency in Department of the Interior programs and operations. Judge Lewis began her professional career in 1981 as an associate with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Steptoe & Johnson LLP. In 1986, she joined the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia as an Assistant United States Attorney, where she was lead counsel for the United States in a variety of civil cases in federal trial and appellate courts, and rose through the ranks to the position of Deputy Chief of the Civil Division. Judge Lewis joined the Department of the Interior in 1993, where she led the General Law Division as the Associate Solicitor until 1995. Following her service as Inspector General and United States Attorney, Judge Lewis joined the law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP as a Partner, where she Doctor of Laws Honorable Chief Judge Wilma A. Lewis “Esteemed Jurist, Outstanding Public Servant, and Consumate Humanitarian” Hon. Wilma A. Lewis