Maryanne Trump Barry (born April 5, 1937) is a Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is the daughter of real estate developer Fred Trump and Mary MacLeod Trump, the older sister of real estate/entertainment magnate Donald Trump and the mother of Dr. David Desmond, a neuropsychologist and writer.

Background[edit]

Barry was born in New York City, New York. She received her B.A. in Political Science/Government fromMount Holyoke College in 1958, an M.A. from Columbia University in 1962, and her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law in 1974. Prior to her service as a judge, she had held other public service positions, having been an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

Career[edit]

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.

A Republican, Barry was nominated to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President Bill Clinton on June 17, 1999, to replace H. Lee Sarokin, who had retired in 1996. President Clinton in 1998 had nominated Robert Raymar to the seat, but that nomination was never given a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Raymar’s nomination expired at the end of that year. Clinton chose not to renominate Raymar to the Third Circuit seat during the next congressional term, and elected instead to nominate Barry.

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.”^[1]

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

On June 30, 2011, Barry assumed senior status and was ultimately succeeded by Judge Patty Shwartz.