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Dirk Paloutzian
Dirk B. Paloutzian is a shareholder at Baker Manock & Jensen, P.C., in Fresno, California. He began working with the firm in 2002.
On May 21, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Paloutzian to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Paloutzian's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2021. Click here for more information on Paloutzian's federal judicial nomination.
The U.S. 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.
Judicial nominations and appointments
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On May 21, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Paloutzian to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Dirk Paloutzian |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of California |
| Progress |
| Returned 227 days after nomination. |
| Questionnaire: |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
Nomination
On April 29, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Paloutzian to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.[2] The president officially submitted the nomination on May 21. Paloutzian's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2021.[3]
Paloutzian was nominated to replace Judge Morrison England, who assumed senior status on December 17, 2019.
The American Bar Association rated Paloutzian well qualified for the position.[4] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Education
Paloutzian earned his B.A. in political science, with distinction in general scholarship, from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991. He obtained his J.D. from the University of California Davis School of Law in 1994.[5]
Professional career
Paloutzian joined Baker Manock & Jensen, P.C. in 2002. Before that, he worked for over five years as a deputy district attorney for Fresno County. In 2000, he became the county’s first elder abuse prosecutor. In 1994, Paloutzian served as an extern to Judge Marvin Baxter on the California Supreme Court.[5]
Associations
- 2020-present: Board of directors, Fresno County Bar Association
- 2007-present: Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, San Joaquin Valley Chapter
- 2009-2019: Board of directors, Fresno Wildlife Rehabilitation Service
- 2007-2013: Board of directors, Fresno Philharmonic[5]
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
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
- United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Footnotes
- ↑ Congress.gov, "PN1921 — Dirk B. Paloutzian — The Judiciary," accessed May 22, 2020
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees," April 29, 2020
- ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days.
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary: Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 116th Congress," accessed September 2, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Baker Manock & Jensen, P.C., "Dirk B. Paloutzian," accessed April 30, 2020
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