Also he was the first federal judge to rule against the Affordable Care Act, though his decision was eventually thrown out.
Also he was a George W. Bush appointee to this seat.
Legal career[edit]
Hudson's legal career had its roots in Republican Party politics.[3] He became Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Arlington County, Virginia from 1974 to 1979, and subsequently served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 1978 to 1979. After a year in private practice, Hudson was elected Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlington County in 1980 as a Republican, and served until 1986.
During his career as a prosecutor, Hudson earned a reputation as a "hard-line and zealous crime fighter" nicknamed "Hang 'Em High Henry".[4][5] Early in his career, Hudson stated: "I live to put people in jail"[6] In what Hudson described as a "career-defining case", he prosecuted David Vazquez, a mentally retarded Arlington resident, for a 1984 rape and murder. Hudson's prosecution was based on a confession given by Vazquez after repeated interrogations, despite the fact that semen found at the crime scene did not match Vazquez.[5] Threatened by Hudson with the death penalty, Vazquez submitted an Alford plea and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.[7] However, inconsistencies in the case led detectives to continue to pursue leads, ultimately linking Timothy Wilson Spencer, a serial killer, to the murder.[5] Vazquez, who had already served 5 years in prison, was exonerated by Hudson's successor. Faced with the evidence of wrongful conviction, Hudson wrote of Vazquez in his memoirs: "I certainly wish him the best, and regret what happened. However I offer no apologies."[7]
Hudson was one of the lead prosecutors of the Lyndon LaRouche criminal trials in the mid-1980s.[8]
Pornography Commission[edit]
As Commonwealth Attorney, Hudson led a campaign to rid Arlington County of adult bookstores, massage parlors, and other venues linked to the sale of pornography.[9] As a result of his efforts, he was named by the Reagan Administration to lead the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (the so-called Meese Commission).[4] The Commission controversially claimed that pornography caused sex crimes, despite the contention to the contrary of social scientists.[6] Hudson said at the time that he wished the commission had taken an even stronger stand against pornography.[4]
After his service on the Meese Commission, Hudson was rewarded with an appointment as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.[6] He remained in this position until 1991, during which time he investigated drug allegations against U.S. Senator Charles Robb.[4] In 1991, Hudson ran briefly and unsuccessfully for Congress as a Republican against James P. Moran.[3]
Marshal Service and Ruby Ridge[edit]
Under President George H.W. Bush, Hudson was Director of the United States Marshals Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Justice, from 1992 to 1993. According to an ESPN article, "His leadership of the Marshals Service included early decisions in the attempt to arrest Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, the greatest disaster in the history of federal law enforcement, a fiasco that led to a grand jury investigation (Hudson was called to testify) and misconduct charges against 12 federal agents."[5] According to a Congressional report on the Ruby Ridge incident, "based on his desire to avoid creating discoverable documents that might be used by the defense in the Weaver/Harris trial and his understanding that the FBI would conduct a comprehensive investigation of the incident, [Hudson] decided to conduct no formal internal review of USMS activities connected with the Weaver case and the Ruby Ridge incident.
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