Jennifer L. Thurston
2021 - Present
3
Jennifer L. Thurston is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on September 20, 2021, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2021, by a vote of 46-24.[1][2] Thurston was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.
Prior to her confirmation, Thurston was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Thurston joined the court on December 31, 2009. She served as the chief magistrate judge from October 2020 until December 2021.[1]
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (2021-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
On September 20, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Thurston to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. She was confirmed by a 46-24 vote of the U.S. Senate on December 17, 2021. She received commission on December 27, 2021.[1][2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Jennifer L. Thurston |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of California |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 88 days after nomination. |
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Thurston by a vote of 46-24 on December 17, 2021.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Thurston confirmation vote (December 17, 2021) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
| 42 | 0 | 6 | |||||||
| 3 | 24 | 23 | |||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| Total | 46 | 24 | 30 | ||||||
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Thurston's nomination on October 20, 2021. The committee voted to advance Thurston's nomination to the full Senate on December 2, 2021.
Nomination
On September 8, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Thurston to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.[1] The president officially nominated Thurston on September 20.[2]
Thurston was nominated to replace Judge Lawrence Joseph O'Neill, who assumed senior status on February 2, 2020.[2][3]
The American Bar Association rated Thurston Well Qualified.[4] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Magistrate to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (2009-2021)
Thurston was appointed as a magistrate judge to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on December 31, 2009.[1]
Biography
Education
Thurston earned a B.S. from California State University in 1989, a J.D. from the California Pacific School of Law in 1997, and an LL.M. from Duke University in 2018.[1]
Professional career
- 2021-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
- 2009-2021: Magistrate, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- 1997-2009: Deputy county counsel, Office of County Counsel, Bakersfield, California[1]
About the court
| Eastern District of California |
|---|
| Ninth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 6 |
| Judges: 6 |
| Vacancies: 0 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Troy L. Nunley |
| Active judges: Daniel Calabretta, Dena Coggins, Dale A. Drozd, Troy L. Nunley, Kirk Sherriff, Jennifer L. Thurston Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates at courthouses in Sacramento, Fresno, Redding, Bakersfield, and Yosemite When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in downtown San Francisco, California, at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse.
The Eastern District of California has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of California consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of California.
There are five court divisions, with the two main court divisions covering the following counties:
The Fresno Division, covering Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties
The Sacramento Division, covering Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba counties
The Eastern Division hears cases from Riverside and San Bernardino counties at its Riverside courthouse.
The Bakersfield office has jurisdiction over certain cases in Inyo and Kern counties and on federal lands and National Parks. These cases are heard in courthouses in Bakersfield, at Edwards Air Force Base, and in Independence, California.
The Redding/Susanville office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks in four locations: Alturas, Chester, Herlong and Redding.
The South Lake Tahoe office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks.
The Yosemite office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for Yosemite National Park.
To read opinions published by this court, click here.
The federal nomination process
Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:
- The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
- The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
- As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
- After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
- If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
- If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
- The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
- If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
- If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.
See also
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
- United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The White House, "President Biden Names Seventh Round of Judicial Nominees," September 8, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Congress.gov, "PN1172 — Jennifer L. Thurston — The Judiciary," accessed September 21, 2021
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "O'Neill, Lawrence Joseph," accessed September 21, 2021
- ↑ American Bar Association, "RATINGS OF ARTICLE III AND ARTICLE IV JUDICIAL NOMINEES," Last Updated: October 19, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Lawrence O'Neill |
Eastern District of California 2021–present Seat #4 |
Succeeded by: NA
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Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California