
Denise Casper
US federal district judge in Boston who made her injunction of Trump's voting executive order permanent.
Judge Denise Casper became chief judge of the US District Court for Massachusetts in 2025, having earlier presided over Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger's 2013 conviction.
Last refreshed: 26 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why did a federal judge permanently block Trump's voting order?
Timeline for Denise Casper
Mentioned in: DOJ loses again on state voter files
US Midterms 2026Turned her injunction of Trump's voting executive order into a permanent block
US Midterms 2026: Trump's voting order blocked for goodBackground
Judge Denise Casper of the US District Court for Massachusetts converted her earlier injunction of President Trump's 31 March 2026 voting executive order into a permanent block on 24 June, ruling the president has no authority over how states administer elections.
President Obama nominated Casper to the Massachusetts federal bench in 2010; she was confirmed that December after six years as an Assistant US Attorney in Boston, latterly deputy chief of the Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit. She presided over the 2013 conviction of Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger and became the court's chief judge in 2025.
Her ruling forecloses federal executive attempts to dictate state election administration heading into the 2026 midterms, closing off one of the cycle's most closely watched legal fights over voting rules.