Ana de Alba
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Assumed office
November 15, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byPaul J. Watford
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
In office
July 7, 2022 – November 16, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byMorrison C. England Jr.
Succeeded byKirk E. Sherriff
Judge of the Fresno County Superior Court
In office
October 11, 2018 – July 7, 2022
Appointed byJerry Brown
Preceded byDale Ikeda
Succeeded byGeoffrey Wilson
Personal details
Born1979 (age 44–45)
Merced, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA, JD)

Ana Isabel de Alba (born 1979)[1] is an American attorney who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California from 2022 to 2023.

Early life and education

de Alba was born in Merced, California. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors. She then attended the UC Berkeley School of Law, graduating in 2007 with a Juris Doctor.[2]

Career

de Alba worked with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project in San Francisco, California, in 2007.[3] From 2007 to 2013, de Alba was an associate at Lang Richet & Patch in Fresno. In 2013, she was promoted to partner, where her practice focused on torts, employment law, and construction law.[4] In October 2018, Governor Jerry Brown appointed her as a judge of the Fresno County Superior Court to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Judge Dale Ikeda.[5]

Federal judicial service

District court service

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated de Alba to serve as a United States district judge for the Eastern District of California.[4] President Biden nominated her to the seat vacated by Judge Morrison C. England Jr., who assumed senior status on December 17, 2019.[6] On April 27, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the committee.[7] On May 26, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–10 vote.[8] On June 13, 2022, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination.[9] On June 16, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–43 vote.[10] On June 21, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 53–45 vote.[11] She received her judicial commission on July 7, 2022,[12] and was sworn in on July 8, 2022.[13] Her service was terminated on November 16, 2023, due to her elevation to the court of appeals.[12]

Court of appeals

On April 14, 2023, President Biden announced his intent to nominate de Alba to serve as United States circuit judge for the Ninth Circuit.[14] On April 17, 2023, her nomination was sent to the Senate. Biden nominated de Alba to the seat being vacated by Judge Paul J. Watford, who subsequently resigned on May 31, 2023.[15][16] On May 17, 2023, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[17] During her confirmation hearing, Republican senators criticized her over her sentencing record during her tenure as a district court judge, as well as pointing out her lack of knowledge of basic constitutional law, specifically with regards to the Dormant Commerce Clause.[18][19][20] She was questioned over her sentencing of a man convicted of possession of child pornography. de Alba sentenced the man to 66-months in jail, which fell below the federal sentencing guideline of 78 to 97 months.[21][22] In 2021, de Alba released from home monitoring an illegal immigrant tied to the killing of a police officer.[23][24][25] On June 8, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by a party-line 11–10 vote.[26][27] On November 9, 2023, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 49–42 vote, with Senator Joe Manchin voting against the motion to invoke cloture on her nomination.[28] On November 13, 2023, her nomination was confirmed by a 48–43 vote, with Senator Manchin voting against confirmation.[29][30] She received her judicial commission on November 15, 2023.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Senate Confirms District Judge Ana de Alba to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circui" (PDF). November 13, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "Ana de Alba Appointed to State Bar Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services". June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "President Biden Names Thirteenth Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "Governor Brown Appoints 33 Superior Court Judges". October 11, 2018. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. April 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – May 26, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  9. ^ "PN1683 — Ana Isabel de Alba — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Ana Isabel de Alba to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California)". United States Senate. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  11. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Ana Isabel de Alba, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California)". United States Senate. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Ana de Alba at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  13. ^ Esparza Loera, Juan (July 11, 2022). "It's official. Daughter of California farmworkers makes U.S. District Court history". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  14. ^ "President Biden Names Thirty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  15. ^ Kapur, Sahil (April 14, 2023). "Biden to nominate two Latina judges to appeals courts". www.nbcnews.com.
  16. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. April 17, 2023.
  17. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. May 15, 2023.
  18. ^ Weiss, Benjamin. "Bipartisanship calls go bust as judicial picks face sharp questioning". Courthouse News. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Esparza Loera, Juan. "Ninth Circuit Court nominee, a Central Valley judge, faces grilling from GOP Senators". Fresno Bee. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  20. ^ Severi, Misty (May 17, 2023). "Biden judicial nominee struggles to explain legal terms in confirmation hearing". MSN. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  21. ^ "Hispanic Woman Who'd Make Fifth Circuit History Advances". Bloomberglaw. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "Ninth Circuit Court nominee, a Central Valley judge, faces grilling from GOP senators". Fresno Bee. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  23. ^ "Ninth Circuit Court nominee, a Central Valley judge, faces grilling from GOP senators". Fresno Bee. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  24. ^ "Conrado Virgen Mendoza Sentenced For Hiding Brother Who Shot And Killed Cpl. Ronil Singh". cbsnews. March 30, 2021.
  25. ^ "Man sentenced for conspiring to assist flight of brother charged with murder of police officer". ice.gov. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  26. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 8, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  27. ^ Loera, Juan Esparza (June 8, 2023). "Despite no GOP support, Central Valley jurist is one step closer to Ninth Circuit Court seat". fresnobee.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  28. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Ana de Alba to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit)". United States Senate. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  29. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Ana de Alba, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit)". United States Senate. November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  30. ^ Raymond, Nate (November 13, 2023). "US Senate confirms Biden judicial nominee de Alba to 9th Circuit". Reuters. Retrieved November 13, 2023.

External links

Legal offices Preceded byMorrison C. England Jr. Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California 2022–2023 Succeeded byKirk E. Sherriff Preceded byPaul J. Watford Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2023–present Incumbent
Judges of the United States courts of appeals
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