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Career: removed erroneous space

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{{Infobox judge
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Sohail Mohammed
| birth_place = [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]], India
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| office = Judge of the [[New Jersey Superior Court]]
| term_start = July 2011
| term_end = 
| nominator = 
| appointer = [[Chris Christie]]
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| alma_mater = {{plainlist|
*[[New Jersey Institute of Technology]]
*[[Seton Hall University School of Law]]
}}
|known_for = Second Muslim Judge in New Jersey
}}
'''Sohail Mohammed''' is an Indian-American Judge for the [[New Jersey Superior Court]] of [[Passaic County, New Jersey]].<ref name="NJLJ">{{cite journal|title=Judge Sohail Mohammed Assigned to Passaic County Family Part|journal=New Jersey Law Journal|date=July 6, 2011}}</ref> Mohammed specialized in [[immigration law]] prior to his appointment in July 2011.

==Early life and education==

Born in [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]], India, Mohammed immigrated to New Jersey at the age of 17 where he was raised and naturalized.<ref name="nominee">{{cite news|last1=Sebastian|first1=Simone|title=For Muslim Nominee, An Unorthodox Path To N.J. Court|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/14/for-muslim-nominee-an-uno_n_823154.html|accessdate=6 August 2014|agency=The Star-Ledger|publisher=Huffington Post|date=Feb 14, 2011}}</ref> In 1988, he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering [[cum laude]] from the [[New Jersey Institute of Technology]].<ref name="NJIT">{{cite web|title=Alert to Life's Possibilities: Judge Sohail Mohammed's Journey from Draftsman, to Electrical Engineer, to Lawyer, to Judge|url=http://www.njit.edu/news/2014/2014-082.php|website=NJIT News Room|accessdate=6 August 2014|location=Newark, NJ|date=Mar 14, 2014}}</ref> He worked full-time as an electrical engineer while pursuing a degree at [[Seton Hall University School of Law]].<ref name=NJIT/> While at Seton Hall, Mohammed founded the Science and Technology Law Society.<ref>[http://www.superlawyers.com/new-jersey/article/First-Call-for-Freedom/fad3fac7-6d58-4d7c-a68e-a368388371f2.html First Call for Freedom]</ref> He received his [[Juris Doctor]] in 1993.<ref>[http://netindian.in/news/2011/01/20/00010205/hyderabad-native-nominated-judgeship-new-jersey India Net article on Mohammed]</ref>

==Career==

Mohammed played a pivotal role as a liaison between law enforcement authorities and New Jersey's Islamic community after the 9/11 attacks.<ref name="CLT">{{cite journal|title=Ahead Of Jersey On Tolerance Scale|journal=Connecticut Law Tribune|date=August 8, 2011|volume=37|issue=32|page=2}}</ref> He worked with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and the FBI in building relations and providing outreach with the Muslim American community.<ref name="NJ.com">{{cite news|last1=The Star-Ledger Staff|title=comments Superior Court nominee rose to prominence as key voice of N.J.'s Muslim community|url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/christie_nominee_would_be_supe.html|accessdate=6 August 2014|publisher=NJ.com|date=Feb 13, 2011}}</ref> He was involved in training over 7,000 members of the law enforcement community regarding Islamic culture and practices.<ref name="WSJ">[http://njjewishnews.com/article/statewide/christie-defends-choice-for-passaic-judgeship Christie defends choice for Passaic judgeship] by Robert Wiener, NJJN January 26, 2011</ref><ref name="SL">[http://www.superlawyers.com/new-jersey/article/First-Call-for-Freedom/fad3fac7-6d58-4d7c-a68e-a368388371f2.html First Call for Freedom] By Kirsten Marcum, New Jersey Super Lawyers 2006 — April 2006</ref> He co-founded the American Muslim Union, an organization dedicated to cross-cultural understanding between Muslims and Americans.<ref name=SL /> Mohammed represented dozens of detainees swept up by law enforcement after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. By 2003, he represented 29 individuals detained due to minor immigration law violations.<ref name="CC">{{cite news|title=Fighting In Court And On Camera|agency=ALM Media Properties, LLC|publisher=Corporate Counsel|date=February 25, 2003}}</ref> Although none of these individuals faced charges of terrorism, the increase in immigration crackdown was a product of 9/11.<ref name=CC />

In 2011, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie faced backlash from conservative bloggers and journalists for nominating a Muslim American to the bench.<ref name=CLT /> Journalist [[Steven Emerson]] accused Mohammed of being "a longtime mouthpiece for radical Islamists" for his brief representation of [[Mohammad Qatanani]], imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, while he applied for a green card.<ref name=NJ.com /> However, the two ended the attorney-client relationship before his deportation case started.<ref name=NJ.com /> Qatanani hired another attorney, Claudia Slovinsky, to fight the deportation case in 2008.<ref name=NJ.com /> Blogger [[Pamela Geller]] accused Christie of being "in bed with the enemy" due to his nomination of Mohammed.<ref name=WSJ /> In support of his appointment, Christie responded, "[i]t's just unnecessary to be accusing this guy of things just because of his religious background."<ref name=CLT /> Sohail Mohammed was sworn into office in July 2011, becoming New Jersey's second Muslim judge.<ref name=nominee /><ref>{{cite news|title=Muslim Picked for New Jersey Bench|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/nyregion/14christie.html|accessdate=6 August 2014|agency=The Associated Press|work=The New York Times|date=Jan 13, 2011}}</ref>

In March 2014, Mohammed ruled on Plotnick v. DeLuccia, a precedential decision that "[has] never been litigated in New Jersey or the United States" prior to this case.<ref name="Plotnick">[Plotnick v. DeLuccia, 434 N.J. Super. 597, 85 A.3d 1039, 2013 N.J. Super. LEXIS 198, 2013 WL 7869380 (Ch.Div. 2013)]</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Rizzo|first1=Salvador|title=NJ court ruling blocking newborn's dad from delivery room is first in nation|url=http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/03/mom_can_keep_dad_out_of_the_delivery_room_nj_court_rules.html|accessdate=6 August 2014|agency=The Star Ledger|publisher=NJ.com|date=Mar 12, 2014}}</ref> The case involved a dispute between two unmarried biological parents over who can be present during the child's birth.<ref name=Plotnick /> The parents were estranged at the time of the delivery.<ref name=Plotnick /> The father filed for a preliminary injunction to be notified for when the mother would be in labor and to be present during the child's birth.<ref name=Plotnick /> No parties contended to the father's right to see the child after birth.<ref name=Plotnick /> Mohammed held that all patients, and pregnant women specifically, enjoy privacy protections that allow them to decide who can be at their hospital bedside.<ref name=Plotnick />

In May 2015, Mohammed issued a decision concerning twins born to different fathers, the result of a rare scientific phenomenon known as [[heteropaternal superfecundation]]. Mohammed ruled that the defendant in the case fathered only one twin and therefore was only responsible for paying child support for that child.{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}}

==See also==
*[[List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New Jersey]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammed, Sohail}}
[[Category:American Muslims]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:New Jersey state court judges]]
[[Category:American politicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Scholars from Hyderabad, India]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Seton Hall University alumni]]
[[Category:1960s births]]

Sohail Mohammed - Revision history

imported>SdkbBot: /* Career */removed erroneous space