David Stras | |
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![]() Stras in 2017 | |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | |
Assumed office January 31, 2018 | |
Appointed by | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Diana E. Murphy |
Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court | |
In office July 1,2010 –January 31,2018 | |
Appointed by | Tim Pawlenty |
Preceded by | Lorie Gildea |
Succeeded by | Paul Thissen |
Personal details | |
Born | David Ryan Stras July 4,1974 Wichita,Kansas,U.S. |
Children | 2 |
Education | University of Kansas (BA,JD–MBA) |
David Ryan Stras (born July 4,1974) [1] [2] is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is a former justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. [3]
Stras was born in 1974 in Wichita,Kansas. [4] [5] He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts with highest honors. He then jointly attended the University of Kansas's School of Law and School of Business,receiving a JD–MBA in 1999. As a law student,Stras was editor-in-chief of the Criminal Procedure Edition of the Kansas Law Review . He received his Juris Doctor degree with Order of the Coif honors. [6] [7] [8]
Stras was a law clerk for Judge Melvin Brunetti of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1999 to 2000,then for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 2000 to 2001. After spending a year in private practice at the Washington,D.C. office of Sidley Austin,Stras clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court from 2002 to 2003. [7]
Stras was a fellow at the University of Alabama School of Law from 2003 to 2004. From 2004 to 2010,he was a professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School,teaching and writing in the areas of federal courts and jurisdiction,constitutional law,criminal law,and law and politics. He won the law school's Stanley V. Kinyon Tenure Track Teacher of the Year Award in 2006. While on the faculty of University of Minnesota Law School,he was also a counsel at Faegre &Bensen. [9] Stras also served as co-director of the Institute for Law and Politics. [7] He has contributed to research on such topics as judicial pensions and life tenure for judges. Stras has also studied judicial appointments and the politics of courts. He is a member of the Federalist Society. [10]
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed Stras to the Minnesota Supreme Court with his term beginning on July 1,2010. [7] He was sworn in on July 12 in a public ceremony. [11] Stras was elected to a six-year term in 2012. Before his appointment,he was a frequent guest on legal topics at Minnesota Public Radio. He was on President Donald Trump's list of potential Supreme Court nominees. [12]
On May 8,2017,President Donald Trump nominated Stras to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge Diana E. Murphy,who assumed senior status on November 29,2016. [13] [14] On September 5,2017,Minnesota Senator Al Franken announced that he would not return his blue slip for Stras. [15] On November 29,2017,a hearing was held on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [16]
On January 3,2018,his nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI,Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. [17] On January 5,Trump announced his intent to renominate Stras to a federal judgeship. [18] On January 8,his renomination was sent to the Senate. [19] On January 18,his nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–8 vote. [20] On January 29,the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 57–41 vote. [21] On January 30,the Senate confirmed Stras's nomination by a 56–42 vote. [22] He received his judicial commission on January 31. [23]
Stras and his wife,Heather,have two children. [4] His paternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors,his grandmother from Hungary and grandfather from Germany. [40]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | David Stras (incumbent) | 139,218 | 48.8 | |
Nonpartisan | Tim Tinglestad | 83,975 | 29.5 | |
Nonpartisan | Alan Nelson | 61,942 | 21.7 | |
Plurality | 55,243 | 19.4 | ||
Total votes | 285,135 | 100 | ||
Runoff election | ||||
Nonpartisan | David Stras (incumbent) | 1,141,951 | 56.0 | |
Nonpartisan | Tim Tinglestad | 890,301 | 43.6 | |
Nonpartisan | Write-ins | 8,687 | 0.4 | |
Majority | 251,650 | 12.3 | ||
Total votes | 2,040,939 | 100 |