Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Paul A. McCloskey to begin hearing cases in October 2018. Judge McCloskey earned a Bachelor of Science in 1996 from Towson State University and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the University of Maryland School of Law. From 2002 to 2018, he served in several positions with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Washington, D.C. From 2016 to 2018, he was an associate deputy principal legal advisor for Field Legal Operations. From 2014 to 2016, he was deputy chief of the Criminal Law Section. From 2010 to 2014 he was an associate legal advisor in the Criminal Law Section. From 2008 to 2010, he was an associate legal advisor in the Enforcement Law Division, serving on a detail as a trial attorney in the Domestic Security Section, Criminal Division, Department of Justice. From 2002 to 2008, he was an assistant chief counsel in Baltimore and New Orleans. From 2001 to 2002, he was a senior immigration officer in the Office of Congressional Relations with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Washington, D.C. From 1999 to 2001, he was a presidential management intern with INS in Washington, D.C. Judge McCloskey is a member of the Maryland State Bar.