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Appointed in July 1994 -- Democrat Senate as well.

We have a responsibility to "make a difference" in the legal system and the administration of justice. My hope is that when historians assess the impact of this early wave of successful women entering all corners of the legal profession, they will not find us wanting.
-- Gladys Kessler, U.S. appellate court judge. As quoted in Fordham Magazine, p. 11 (Spring/Summer 1994).

Allowed tobacco lawsuits to proceed under RICO laws, but rejected "medical costs" arguments. Wouldn't stop bombing at Viequez. But the best is this article by Bob Novak that describes how Kessler blocked the FEC from releasing DNC/union documents from the 1996 election. (The article is July 23, 2001)

From Novak: "U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler of the District of Columbia, whose career is closely tied to liberal-labor Democrats . . ."

but she decided right on this one:

"The Associated Press
W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 2 — A federal judge dismissed Puerto Rico's lawsuit to stop the federal government from resuming Navy bombing exercises on the territory's island of Vieques. The Puerto Rican government said today it would appeal.

U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler said that while the political and policy issues surrounding the case were complex, "the legal issue, in contrast, is simple and straightforward."

Puerto Rico had filed its complaint last year after Gov. Sila Calderon signed a law banning loud noises along the island's shores. That law cited the U.S. Noise Control Act of 1972, which allows states — or, as in Puerto Rico's case, U.S. territories — to set noise-control laws.

In a ruling issued Monday, Kessler said she must dismiss the Puerto Rico's case "for lack of subject matter jurisdiction." She said the federal Noise Control Act "does not provide plaintiff a cause of action to sue in federal district court for the violations alleged."

Her decision on Berry is aggravating, but it will be appealed and won. Not to worry.

"Labor went to court, and -- as is often the case in the District of Columbia -- found a friendly judge. Before President Clinton named her to the federal bunch in 1995 at age 57, Gladys Kessler had worked for the National Labor Relations Board in the Kennedy administration, for left-wing Rep. Jonathan Bingham of the Bronx, as a labor lawyer for the New York City Board of Education and finally for 17 years as a superior court judge in D.C. appointed by President Jimmy Carter. "

From Bob Novak