Leonie Helen Milhomme Brinkema (born June 26, 1944) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Early life and education

She was born as Leonie Milhomme in Teaneck, New Jersey, and was raised in Teaneck, Englewood and Tenafly, where she attended Tenafly High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in 1966 and a Master of Library and Information Science from the same institution in 1970. She earned a Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 1976.

Career

She worked in the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section 1976–1977, and then the United States Attorney's office in the Eastern District of Virginia, Criminal Division from 1977 to 1983. From 1983 to 1984, she returned to the Criminal Division and worked as a sole practitioner from 1984 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

Brinkema was a United States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia from 1985 to 1993. On August 6, 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Brinkema to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Judge Albert Vickers Bryan Jr. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 18, 1993, and received her commission on October 20, 1993. She took up her post on October 23, 1993.

Notable rulings