Judge Livingston was appointed United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit on May 17, 2007 and entered on duty June 1, 2007. Prior to her appointment she was Paul J. Kellner Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where she also served as Vice Dean. Judge Livingston joined the Columbia faculty in 1994 as an Assistant Professor of Law, becoming a full professor in 2000 and Paul J. Kellner Professor in 2004. She continues to be Paul J. Kellner Professor at Columbia, where she teaches Criminal Procedure on a regular basis. Judge Livingston is a recipient of Columbia's annual Wein Prize for Social Responsibility.

Judge Livingston received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Princeton University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor on the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Judge Livingston was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1986 to 1991 and she served as a Deputy Chief of Appeals in the Criminal Division from 1990 to 1991. She was an associate with the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison from 1985 to 1986 and again from 1991 to 1992, when she elected to pursue an academic career. Judge Livingston was a member of the University of Michigan's Law School faculty from 1992 until 1994.

Judge Livingston is a co-author of the casebook, Comprehensive Criminal Procedure, and has published academic articles on various legal topics. She has taught courses in evidence, criminal law and procedure, law and policing, and national security and terrorism. From 1994 to 2003, Judge Livingston was a Commissioner on New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board. She presently serves as a member of the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules.