Military Arrest in Doubt as U.S. Fights Rookie Judge

Katherine Forrest, a federal judge appointed by President Barack Obama who less than a year later blocked a controversial military-detention law, will have that ruling tested as an appeals court considers the government’s claim that her decision would irreparably damage national security.

Forrest, 48, a military-history buff, went from living on food stamps as a teenager to advising Time Warner Inc. and United Airlines Inc. as a corporate litigator. She then took a seven-figure pay cut on the path to her dream job as a judge, and was appointed to U.S. District Court in Manhattan in 2011.