# Waverly Crenshaw **Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr.** is a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville, nominated by Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate on April 11, 2016. He presided over *United States v. Abrego Garcia*, the human-smuggling prosecution brought against [[Kilmar Abrego Garcia]] after the government was ordered to bring him back from El Salvador. On October 3, 2025 he found a "realistic likelihood" that the prosecution was vindictive; on May 22, 2026 he dismissed the indictment, holding that the government had not rebutted the presumption of vindictiveness and that [[Todd Blanche]]'s public statements "taint[ed] the investigation with a vindictive motive." The government's appeal is pending in the Sixth Circuit. See [[Kilmar Abrego Garcia Timeline]] and [[Prosecutorial Discretion]]. ## See Also - [[Kilmar Abrego Garcia Timeline]] · [[Paula Xinis]] · [[Prosecutorial Discretion]] · [[Trump Retribution Doctrine]]