The Texas Tech Law Review is honored to welcome Judge M. Tia Johnson as our 15th Huffman Distinguished Lecturer.
M. Tia Johnson was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on December 22, 2022.
Judge Johnson is a native of Philadelphia, PA. She attended Hampton Institute (now University), where she was awarded a two-year ROTC scholarship. Commissioned in 1980, she was granted an Educational Delay to attend Temple University Law School. While in law school she served as the Research Assistant for the late Judge A. Leon Higgenbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Upon graduation in 1983 and subsequent admission to the Pennsylvania Bar, Judge Johnson entered active duty in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals’ Corps. From 1984-2013, Judge Johnson served in a variety of legal positions, of increasing importance, achieving a number of “firsts” along the way. These include becoming the first African American female: to attend the Graduate Course and earn a Master of Laws in Military Law (with a specialty in International/Operational Law) from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals’ School (renamed U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals’ Legal Center and School); and later, the first to chair an Academic Department at the school, where she occupied the Waldemar A. Solf Chair of International/Operational Law. Finally, in 2002, she became the first African American female to be selected to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army JAG Corps’ 227-year history. In her final assignment, she served as the Senior Military Assistant to the Department of Defense General Counsel.
After retirement, Judge Johnson served as a Presidential Appointee at the Department of Homeland Security. She was initially the Senior Advisor to the Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In that role, she developed strategies and plans to implement the President’s 2014 Executive Actions on Immigration. In 2015, she was appointed as the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs. During her two-year tenure she was instrumental in getting major legislation passed that enhanced the department’s mission, authorized its components, and codified new processes and organizations.
In March 2017, Judge Johnson joined the faculty of the Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as a Visiting Professor and former Director of the National Security Law LL.M. Program. She was also a Visiting Fellow at Georgetown’s Center on National Security and the Law, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for National Security law at the University of Virginia Law School. At Georgetown, she taught in the areas of constitutional law and governance, and National Security Law.
Judge Johnson earned a second LL.M. in International/National Security Law from the University of Virginia School of Law as well as a M.S. in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. In addition to her numerous military awards, Judge Johnson has been recognized by the civilian bar. She is a 1995 joint recipient of the American Bar Association’s Hodson Award for Outstanding Public Service. In 2002, she was inducted into the National Bar Association’s Military Law Section Hall of Fame. In 2005, she was selected as the American Bar Association’s Outstanding Military Service Career Judge Advocate. And, in 2022, Judge Johnson was inducted into the U.S. Army Women’s Hall of Fame.
Judge Johnson lives in Virginia with her husband, Alvin K. Phillips, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, and non-profit executive.
The Law Review is honored and excited to hear Judge Johnson speak about her observations from the bench during this year’s Huffman Distinguished Lecture Series. The lecture will take place on April 22, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm in the Mark & Becky Lanier Professional Development Auditorium at the Texas Tech University School of Law. We will have lunch for all attendees.
If you have any questions regarding this event, please reach out to our Editor in Chief, Allison Morgan, at allison.morgan@ttu.edu.