{ "id": "ep5ay89qqn", "slug": "karen-m-williams", "title": "Karen M. Williams", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law" }, { "id": "society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3", "label": "Article III judges (district and appellate)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges", "label": "United States district court judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-t-to-wo", "label": "Surnames T to Wo", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-t-to-wo" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-t-to-wo", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Surnames T to Wo", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-t-to-wo", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges", "label": "United States district court judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-t-to-wo", "label": "Surnames T to Wo", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-t-to-wo" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Karen M. Williams, also known as Karen McGlashan Williams, is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge in New Jersey since 2021.", "snippet": "Karen M. Williams, also known as Karen McGlashan Williams, is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge in New Jersey since 2021.", "node": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-t-to-wo", "markdown": "# Karen M. Williams\n\nKaren McGlashan Williams (born 1963) is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey since 2021.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) She was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) Before her district court appointment, she served as a [United States magistrate judge](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-magistrate-judge) for the same court from 2009 to 2021.[2](https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-menendez-applaud-confirmation-of-karen-m-williams-to-us-district-court-for-new-jersey)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Court | U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) |\n| Appointed by | Joseph R. Biden[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) |\n| Confirmed | October 26, 2021 (Senate voted 56 to 38)[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) |\n| Born | 1963 in Syosset, NY[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) |\n| Education | B.A., Pennsylvania State University, 1985; J.D., Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law), 1992[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) |\n\n## Early life and education\n\nWilliams was born in 1963 in Syosset, New York.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) She grew up on [Long Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-island) with four siblings.[3](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/) She received a bachelor's degree from [Pennsylvania State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/pennsylvania-state-university) in 1985 and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law, now the James E. Beasley School of Law, in 1992.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796)\n\n## Legal career\n\nFrom 1992 to 2009, Williams was in private practice in [Newark, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/newark-new-jersey).[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) She spent 17 years at the firm of Jasinski & Williams, P.C. in Atlantic City, where her work focused on employment law, including litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative bodies.[2](https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-menendez-applaud-confirmation-of-karen-m-williams-to-us-district-court-for-new-jersey) Among the cases she handled, Williams represented Atlantic City in an appeal of a decision finding that the city had violated a firefighter's First Amendment rights by disciplining him for using a racial slur against an African-American police officer; the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in the city's favor, holding that the use of the racial slur was not protected speech.[3](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/)\n\nIn 2009, Williams was appointed a United States magistrate judge for the District of New Jersey, based in Camden, where she served until 2021.[2](https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-menendez-applaud-confirmation-of-karen-m-williams-to-us-district-court-for-new-jersey) In that role she handled settlement and discovery matters, made recommendations on dispositive motions, presided over cases where the parties consented, and reviewed bail and detention motions.[3](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/) She also taught as an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School in Camden from 2010 to 2014.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) Beginning in 2020, she served as an adjunct professor at [Rowan University](https://www.edgepedia.org/rowan-university) in Glassboro, New Jersey.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796)\n\n## Federal judicial service\n\nThe seat to which Williams was nominated opened on May 31, 2017, when Judge Jerome Simandle moved to senior status; the Trump administration did not put forward a nominee to fill the vacancy.[3](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/) President Joseph R. Biden nominated Williams to the District of New Jersey on May 12, 2021.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) The Senate confirmed her on October 26, 2021, by a vote of 56 to 38.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) • [4](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00433.htm) She received her commission on November 1, 2021.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796) She was among the judges confirmed to the District of New Jersey that year, following Julien Xavier Neals, Zahid Quraishi, and [Christine P. O'Hearn](https://www.edgepedia.org/christine-p-ohearn).[2](https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-menendez-applaud-confirmation-of-karen-m-williams-to-us-district-court-for-new-jersey) According to Senators Cory Booker and [Bob Menendez](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-menendez), Williams is the first African-American federal judge confirmed by the Senate to sit in the federal courthouse in [Camden, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/camden-new-jersey).[2](https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-menendez-applaud-confirmation-of-karen-m-williams-to-us-district-court-for-new-jersey)\n\n## Notable cases\n\nAs a magistrate judge, Williams ordered the detention of Richard Tobin, an 18-year-old Camden man accused of using neo-Nazi social networking platforms to recruit attackers against synagogues in the Midwest.[3](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/) She also ordered the detention of Carlos Matchett, who was accused of using social media to encourage looting and rioting during protests against police brutality following the death of [George Floyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-floyd), and of Alex Capasso, a restaurateur accused of molesting a minor.[3](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/) In 2010, prosecutors asked Williams to detain Camden police officers Antonio Figueroa and Robert Bayard, who were accused of abusing their power and of stealing cash and drugs from local drug dealers; she declined to hold the defendants without bail, instead setting bail at $100,000 with pretrial conditions including electronic monitoring and a curfew.[3](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges: Karen McGlashan Williams](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10929796)\n2. [Booker, Menendez Applaud Confirmation of Karen M. Williams to U.S. District Court for New Jersey](https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-menendez-applaud-confirmation-of-karen-m-williams-to-us-district-court-for-new-jersey)\n3. [Judge Karen Williams – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, The Vetting Room](https://vettingroom.org/2021/05/28/judge-karen-williams/)\n4. [Roll Call Vote, 117th Congress, 1st Session: Confirmation of Karen McGlashan Williams](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00433.htm)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › United States judges › US federal judges › Article III judges (district and appellate) › United States district court judges › Surnames T to Wo*\n\n*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Sep 29, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 29, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-m-williams", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-m-williams.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Karen M. Williams\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-m-williams. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Karen M. Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-m-williams)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-m-williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-m-williams). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Karen M. Williams\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-m-williams. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Karen M. Williams, also known as Karen McGlashan Williams, is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge in New Jersey since 2021." }