Maryanne Trump Barry

Early life

Barry was born Maryanne Trump on April 5, 1937 in Queens in New York City, New York, to real-estate developer Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. She is an elder sister of Donald Trump. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science/government from Mount Holyoke College in 1958, and a Master of Arts from Columbia University in 1962. She later returned to graduate school to study law, earning her Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law in 1974.

Career

Barry served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1974 to 1983. She served in the civil division from 1974 to 1975. She served in the appeals division from 1976 to 1982, serving as deputy chief of that division from 1976 to 1977 and chief of that division from 1977 to 1982. She served as Executive Assistant United States Attorney from 1981 to 1982. She served as First Assistant United States Attorney from 1981 to 1983.

Federal judicial service

Barry was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 14, 1983, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Henry Curtis Meanor. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 6, 1983, and received her commission the next day. Her service terminated on October 25, 1999, due to elevation to the Third Circuit.

A Republican, Barry was nominated to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by Democratic President Bill Clinton on June 17, 1999, to replace H. Lee Sarokin, who had retired in 1996. Clinton had nominated Robert Raymar to the seat in 1998, but that nomination was never given a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Raymar's nomination expired at the end of that year. During the next congressional term, Clinton nominated Barry to the position.

Barry was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on September 13, 1999, and received her commission on September 22, 1999. "I am deeply honored and very grateful for the nomination," Barry told the New Jersey Law Journal in 1999. "I am surprised I was approached on it. I assume that my record is good enough as a district court judge to be reached out to, and I'm glad that politics weren't a priority here."

Barry's reputation on the bench was that of a tough judge with strong command of her courtroom. In 1989, while a district court judge in Essex County, New Jersey, she disapproved a plea bargaining deal that would have freed two county detectives accused of protecting a drug dealer, and forced the case to trial. The detectives were convicted and received jail terms. She also presided over the conviction of Louis Manna, the Genovese crime family boss accused of plotting to assassinate rival John Gotti.

In January 2006, Barry testified in support of the appointment of fellow Third Circuit Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

On June 30, 2011, Barry assumed senior status. She was ultimately succeeded by Judge Patty Shwartz. Barry took inactive senior status the first week of February 2017.

Supreme Court speculation

During the 2016 presidential campaign, media reports speculated about Barry's potential appointment as a Supreme Court justice. Donald Trump responded that Barry was not interested in the role, and that in any case, nominating his sister would be a conflict of interest. Later in 2016, Trump published a list of potential Supreme Court nominees from which he committed to make his picks. Barry refrained from public comments during her brother's presidential run, as was her long habit.

Awards

In 2004, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court presented Barry with an award, named for O'Connor, that the Seton Hall University School of Law gives to women who excel in law and public service. At the presentation ceremony, Barry said, "I say to the women out there, remember how difficult it was for women like Justice O'Connor starting out," adding, "Even though she graduated with top grades, she had to take a job as a legal secretary. Remember how far we have come."

Personal life

In 1960, Barry married David Desmond, a lieutenant in the United States Air Force. They divorced in 1980. In 1982, she married John Joseph Barry, a New Jersey lawyer. He died on April 9, 2000. She has one son from her first marriage, David William Desmond (born 1960), who became a psychologist. Barry lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Barry identifies as Catholic and has said she admires Jesuit ideology. She recently gave $5 million to Fairfield University, a Catholic institution, in the name of "Ignatian spirituality".