Thomas Rice
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
In office
January 27, 2016 – July 24, 2020
Preceded byRosanna M. Peterson
Succeeded byStanley Bastian
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Assumed office
March 8, 2012
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byRobert H. Whaley
Personal details
Born
Thomas Owen Rice

(1960-12-09) December 9, 1960 (age 63)
Spokane, Washington, U.S.
EducationGonzaga University (BBA, JD)

Thomas Owen Rice (born December 9, 1960) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

Early life and education

Born in Spokane, Washington, Rice earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Gonzaga University in 1983 and a Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1986.[1][2]

Career

From 1986 until early 1987, Rice worked for the United States Department of Justice as a trial attorney in Washington in the department's tax division.[1] From 1987 to 2012, Rice worked in the United States Attorney's Office for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1987 to 2012. He served as the deputy criminal chief for his prosecutor's office from 2000 until 2003, and then was the criminal chief from 2003 until 2006.[1] From 2006 until his appointment to the bench, he was a First Assistant United States Attorney.[1][2]

Federal judicial service

On June 29, 2011, President Obama nominated Rice to the seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington that had been vacated by Judge Robert H. Whaley, who assumed senior status in 2009.[3] He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 20, 2011. His nomination was reported out of committee on October 13, 2011 by voice vote.[4] On March 6, 2012, the United States Senate confirmed Rice's nomination by a 93–4 vote.[5] He received his commission on March 8, 2012.[2] Rice served as Chief Judge of the court from January 27, 2016 to July 24, 2020.[6]

In April 2023, in a lawsuit brought by 17 states and the District of Columbia, Rice issued a temporary injunction that the Food and Drug Administration should not reduce access to the abortion medication mifepristone in these states and the district.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (June 29, 2011). "President Obama Nominates Two to the United States District Court". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved July 19, 2011 – via National Archives.
  2. ^ a b c Thomas O. Rice at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  3. ^ The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (June 29, 2011). "Presidential Nominations sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved July 19, 2011 – via National Archives.
  4. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting - October 13, 2011" (PDF). judiciary.senate.gov.
  5. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Thomas Owen Rice, of Washington, to be U.S. District Judge)".
  6. ^ "Judge Thomas O. Rice". www.waed.uscourts.gov. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  7. ^ "Judge in Washington orders feds to keep abortion pill access". Associated Press. April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Ables, Kelsey; Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan (April 8, 2023). "Who is Thomas Rice, the Washington judge who ruled mifepristone is safe?". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 8, 2023.

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Legal offices Preceded byRobert H. Whaley Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington 2012–present Incumbent Preceded byRosanna M. Peterson Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington 2016–2020 Succeeded byStanley Bastian
Active district judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
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