Notable cases

On January 28, 2017, Donnelly issued an emergency stay blocking part of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump from going into effect. The ruling enjoined the federal government from deporting individuals who had arrived in the country with valid visas or refugee status.^[13][14] Several minutes after Donnelly entered her order, another judge, Leonie Brinkema of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from preventing the return of lawful permanent residents at Dulles International Airport.^[14]

She also tried the singer R. Kelly in his sex trafficking trial, where he was convicted of all charges.^[15] On June 29, 2022, Donnelly sentenced Kelly to 30 years in prison.^[16]

In June 2022, The United States Supreme Court unanimously vacated Judge Donnelly's decision that a minor child be compelled to return to Italy despite the child "facing a grave risk of harm" if returned. The Supreme Court returned the matter to Judge Donnelly, who again ordered the child returned to Italy, in August 2022.^[17] The child's mother, Narkis Aliza Golan, who had settled at a New York domestic violence shelter after fleeing Italy to protect the child, was found dead weeks after Judge Donnelly's August 2022 decision.^[18] At the time of her death, Golan was preparing to appeal Donnelly's August 2022 decision.^{[citation needed]}