James E. Simmons Jr. | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California | |
Assumed office March 10, 2023 | |
Appointed by | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Anthony J. Battaglia |
Judge of the San Diego County Superior Court | |
In office November 2,2017 –March 10,2023 | |
Appointed by | Jerry Brown |
Preceded by | David M. Szumowski |
Succeeded by | Alejandro Morales |
Personal details | |
Born | James Edward Simmons Jr. 1979 (age 44–45) Inglewood,California,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic [1] |
Education | University of California,Berkeley (BA) Golden Gate University (JD) |
James Edward Simmons Jr. (born 1979) [2] is an American lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. He served as a judge of the San Diego County Superior Court from 2017 to 2023.
Simmons was raised in Los Angeles. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California,Berkeley in 2001 and a Juris Doctor from the Golden Gate University School of Law in 2004. [3]
In 2005,Simmons was a deputy city attorney in the San Diego City Attorney's Office. From 2006 to 2017,he was a deputy district attorney in the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. [3] [4] During his tenure,he worked in the juvenile division,the superior court division and the gangs division. He has volunteered for Project LEAD. [5]
On November 2,2017,Governor Jerry Brown appointed Simmons as a judge of the San Diego County Superior Court to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge David M. Szumowski. [6] [7] He left the state bench in March 2023 when he was appointed to the federal bench.
On July 14,2022,President Joe Biden nominated Simmons to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. [3] Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein support his nomination. [8] President Biden nominated Simmons to the seat vacated by Judge Anthony J. Battaglia,who assumed senior status on March 31,2021. [9] On November 30,2022,a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [10] On January 3,2023,his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI,Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. He was renominated on January 23,2023. [11] On February 9,2023,his nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–8 vote. [12] On March 1,2023,the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–45 vote. [13] On March 9,2023,his nomination was confirmed by a 51–43 vote. [14] He received his judicial commission on March 10,2023. [15]
Lucy Haeran Koh is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Koh previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021. She also served as a California state court judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2008 to 2010. She is the first Korean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the United States.
Salvador Mendoza Jr. is an American lawyer serving as United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington from 2014 to 2022 and as a Washington state court judge from 2002 to 2014.
Florence Yu Pan is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022 and a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2021.
Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong is an American attorney serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She previously served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2015 to 2022.
Holly Aiyisha Thomas is an American attorney serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2018 to 2022.
Hernán Diego Vera is an American judge from California who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He previously served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2020 to 2023.
Loren Linn AliKhan is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as a U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since 2023. She previously served as an associate judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 2022 to 2023 as well as the solicitor general of the District of Columbia from 2018 to 2022.
Jinsook Ohta is an American attorney and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. She previously served as a judge on the San Diego County Superior Court.
Linda Lopez is an American attorney serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. She previously served as a magistrate judge of the same court.
Sherilyn Peace Garnett is an American attorney who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2014 to 2022.
Fred Wallace Slaughter is an American lawyer who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He previously served as a judge on the California Superior Court for Orange County from 2014 to 2022.
Sunshine Suzanne Sykes is an American lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She previously served as a judge of the California Superior Court for Riverside County from 2013 to 2022.
Ana Isabel de Alba 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.
Robert Steven Huie is an American lawyer from California who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
President Joe Biden began his presidency with fewer vacancies to fill than his predecessor. He pledged to nominate people with diverse backgrounds and professional experience;further he pledged to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Andrew George Schopler is an American lawyer who serves as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. He served as a United States Magistrate Judge of the same court from 2016 to 2023.
Daniel Joe Calabretta is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.
Rita Faye Lin is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She previously served as an associate judge of the San Francisco County Superior Court.
Araceli Martínez-Olguín is an American lawyer from California who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Eumi Kim Lee is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California since 2024. She previously served as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court from 2018 to 2024.