Josephine Laura Staton | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California | |
Assumed office June 22, 2010 | |
Appointed by | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Alicemarie Huber Stotler |
Judge of the Orange County Superior Court | |
In office 2002–2010 | |
Appointed by | Gray Davis |
Preceded by | Richard Fybel |
Personal details | |
Born | 1961 (age 63–64) St. Louis,Missouri,U.S. |
Education | William Jewell College (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Josephine Laura Staton (born 1961) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Born in St. Louis,Missouri,Staton graduated from Lindbergh High School,earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from William Jewell College and obtained a Juris Doctor in 1986 from Harvard Law School. [1] [2] [3] From 1986 until 1987,Staton was a law clerk for Judge John R. Gibson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. [1] [4] [5]
From 1987 until 2002,Staton was an attorney with the San Francisco and Newport Beach offices of the law firm Morrison &Foerster,first as an associate (1987–1994) and then as a partner (1995–2002). [1] In 2002,Staton became a judge on Orange County Superior Court,based in Santa Ana. [1] She was appointed to the position by Governor Gray Davis to fill the vacancy created when Judge Richard D. Fybel was elevated to the California Court of Appeal in Orange County. [6] [5]
On February 4,2010,President Barack Obama nominated Staton to fill the vacancy in the Central District created by Judge Alicemarie Stotler taking senior status in January 2009. [7] On March 18,2010,the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported Staton's nomination to the full Senate,which unanimously confirmed Staton on June 21,2010,in a voice vote. [8] She received her commission on June 22,2010. Staton was appointed to the bench under the name of Josephine Staton Tucker and served under that name until September 20,2013. [5]
Staton presided over a challenge brought by several Orange County public school teachers to the California Teachers Union's exclusive bargaining system on constitutional grounds. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed her ruling in favor of the teachers union, [9] and this ruling was upheld by an evenly divided U.S. Supreme Court in a 4-4 per curiam decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Ass'n . [10] Justice Scalia had been the expected 5th vote to overturn the controlling 1977 Abood decision,but his 2016 death shortly after the case was argued meant there was a deadlocked decision. [11] Subsequently, Abood was overturned in Janus v. AFSCME in 2018,which effectively overturned Staton's ruling in Friedrichs. [12]
In the wake of President Donald Trump's controversial Executive Order 13769 restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries,certain individuals with valid U.S. visas continued to be detained at borders and airports despite a nationwide temporary restraining order having been issued by U.S. District Judge James Robart in Washington v. Trump. In a case that drew international attention,Staton issued an emergency temporary restraining order on March 4,2017,to prevent an Afghan family from being separated—and the wife and three small children sent to a detention facility in Texas—after all five had arrived at Los Angeles International Airport with Special Immigrant Visas and were detained for almost two days without access to counsel. [13] Staton held a hearing on March 6,2017,after which the Department of Homeland Security released the family for provisional resettlement in Washington state [14] and ultimately granted them permanent residency status. [15] Special immigrant visas were created for citizens from Iraq and Afghanistan whose lives were at risk because they had worked for the U.S. military or government,and the visa requires intense State Department vetting and interviews before being approved. At the hearing it was revealed that the visas had been issued because the father had worked for the U.S. military in Afghanistan for more than 10 years and had received death threats from the Taliban. [14]
In a case involving a long-running investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) into the fraudulent consumer debt relief practices of Morgan Drexen and its proxy law firm,Staton ruled that the CFPB was a constitutionally formed federal bureau. [16] The defendant had argued that the CFPB violated constitutional separation of powers because it was headed by a single Director who exercises substantial executive power but can only be removed by the President for cause. Staton cited the Supreme Court decision in Morrison v. Olson to hold that the for-cause removal restriction protecting the CFPB's Director does not "impede the President’s ability to perform his constitutional duty" to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed. Prior to the ruling,a three judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals had found the CFPB's structure unconstitutional in a ruling written by then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh,but an en banc decision by the DC Circuit reversed that decision and found the CFPB to be constitutional. [17] Staton's ruling was unanimously affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. [18] The case,Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,was argued before the U. S. Supreme Court on March 3,2020. [19] On June 29,2020,the Supreme Court in a 5–4 decision ruled that the CFPB structure,with a sole director that could only be terminated for cause,was unconstitutional as it violated the separation of powers,vacating the lower court judgement and remanding the case for review. The Court found that the statute concerning the director of the CFPB was severable from the rest of the statute establishing the agency,and thus "The agency may therefore continue to operate,but its Director,in light of our decision,must be removable by the President at will." [20]
On January 17,2020,on a 2–1 vote,a Ninth Circuit panel reversed an Oregon district court ruling in Juliana,et al. v. United States of America,et al.,a climate justice-based lawsuit filed in 2015 by 21 youth plaintiffs including Xiuhtezcatl Martinez against the United States and several of its executive branch positions and officers,formerly including President Barack Obama and currently,President Donald Trump. The plaintiffs,on behalf of themselves and future generations,sought relief under the U.S. Constitution for longstanding U.S. governmental policy contributing to global climate disruption and caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The majority agreed that the government had not rebutted the plaintiffs' science-based allegations of a looming climate catastrophe,but found a lack of standing on the part of the plaintiffs,with Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz holding that "it is beyond the power of an Article III court to order,design,supervise,or implement the plaintiffs' requested remedial plan. As the opinions of their experts make plain,any effective plan would necessarily require a host of complex policy decisions entrusted,for better or worse,to the wisdom and discretion of the executive and legislative branches." [21]
In dissent,Staton,sitting on the 9th Circuit panel by designation,characterized the majority as shirking its judicial responsibility to rectify a grave constitutional wrong in the manner the U.S. Supreme Court laudably did in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision,stating,"My colleagues throw up their hands,concluding that this case presents nothing fit for the Judiciary." [22] She further argued,"No case can singlehandedly prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change predicted by the government and scientists. But a federal court need not manage all of the delicate foreign relations and regulatory minutiae implicated by climate change to offer real relief,and the mere fact that this suit cannot alone halt climate change does not mean that it presents no claim suitable for judicial resolution." [23] In an analogy from her impassioned dissent that became widely cited in the news media, [24] [25] [26] Staton stated that "[i]n these proceedings,the government accepts as fact that the United States has reached a tipping point crying out for a concerted response -- yet presses ahead toward calamity. It is as if an asteroid were barreling toward Earth and the government decided to shut down our only defenses. Seeking to quash this suit,the government bluntly insists that it has the absolute and unreviewable power to destroy the Nation." [27] The plaintiffs in Juliana subsequently requested a full en banc review by the 9th Circuit of the panel's decision. [28] The petition was denied. [29]
In a case that drew national media attention,Staton issued a temporary restraining order at the request of the City of Costa Mesa on February 21,2020,in response to a hasty plan by the State of California and the U.S. federal government to ship dozens of patients testing positive for coronavirus,then quarantined at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County,to a former assisted living center in Orange County,California. [30] Staton scheduled an expedited hearing for the following Monday,after which she continued the TRO in place pending a showing by the State of California as to its plan to house the patients in a densely populated part of the county. Prior to the hearing,the federal government had planned to ship the non-California resident former passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship from Travis to a former army base in Anniston,Alabama,but Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama lobbied President Trump to include them in the group to be sent to Orange County,California,instead. [31] At the hearing it became apparent that neither the State of California nor the Federal Government had developed a rationale for the plan, [32] so the TRO was continued for another week to allow the authorities to do so. Prior to the next scheduled hearing,as the COVID-19 pandemic evolved,the state and federal governments withdrew their plan to house the Travis patients at the Fairview Developmental Center location. [33]
American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency,493 F.3d 644,is a case decided July 6,2007,in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the plaintiffs in the case did not have standing to bring the suit against the National Security Agency (NSA),because they could not present evidence that they were the targets of the so-called "Terrorist Surveillance Program" (TSP).
Diarmuid Fionntain O'Scannlain is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His chambers are located in Portland,Oregon.
Loretta A. Preska is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Born in Albany,Preska received law degrees from Fordham University School of Law and New York University School of Law. She practiced law in New York City from 1973 to 1992 at the law firms of Cahill Gordon &Reindel and Hertzog,Calamari &Gleason. President George H. W. Bush appointed her to the district bench in 1992. She served as chief judge of the court for a seven-year term from 2009 to 2016,and took senior status in 2017. President George W. Bush nominated Preska to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2008,but the Senate did not act on the nomination.
Consuelo Bland Marshall is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Mary Helen Murguia is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona from 2000 to 2011.
Hollingsworth v. Perry was a series of United States federal court cases that re-legalized same-sex marriage in the state of California. The case began in 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California,which found that banning same-sex marriage violates equal protection under the law. This decision overturned California ballot initiative Proposition 8,which had banned same-sex marriage. After the State of California refused to defend Proposition 8,the official sponsors of Proposition 8 intervened and appealed to the Supreme Court. The case was litigated during the governorships of both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown,and was thus known as Perry v. Schwarzenegger and Perry v. Brown,respectively. As Hollingsworth v. Perry,it eventually reached the United States Supreme Court,which held that,in line with prior precedent,the official sponsors of a ballot initiative measure did not have Article III standing to appeal an adverse federal court ruling when the state refused to do so.
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.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks,credit unions,securities firms,payday lenders,mortgage-servicing operations,foreclosure relief services,debt collectors,for-profit colleges,and other financial companies operating in the United States. Since its founding,the CFPB has used technology tools to monitor how financial entities used social media and algorithms to target consumers.
Numerous lawsuits and ballot challenges,based on conspiracy theories related to Barack Obama's eligibility for the United States presidency,were filed following his first election in 2008 and over the course of his two terms as president. These actions sought to have Obama disqualified from running for,or being confirmed for,the Presidency of the United States,to declare his actions in office to be null and void,or to compel him to release additional documentation related to his U.S. citizenship.
Executive Order 13769 was signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 27,2017,and quickly became the subject of legal challenges in the federal courts of the United States. The order sought to restrict travel from seven Muslim majority countries:Iran,Iraq,Libya,Somalia,Sudan,Syria,and Yemen. The plaintiffs challenging the order argued that it contravened the United States Constitution,federal statutes,or both. On March 16,2017,Executive Order 13769 was superseded by Executive Order 13780,which took legal objections into account and removed Iraq from affected countries. Then on September 24,2017,Executive Order 13780 was superseded by Presidential Proclamation 9645 which is aimed at more permanently establishing travel restrictions on those countries except Sudan,while adding North Korea and Venezuela which had not previously been included.
Executive Order 13780,titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,was an executive order signed by United States President Donald Trump on March 6,2017. It placed a 90-day restriction on entry to the U.S. by nationals of Iran,Libya,Somalia,Sudan,Syria and Yemen,and barred entry for all refugees who did not possess either a visa or valid travel documents for 120 days. This executive order—sometimes called "Travel Ban 2.0"—revoked and replaced Executive Order 13769 issued on January 27,2017.
Trump v. Hawaii,No. 17-965,585 U.S. 667 (2018),was a landmark United States Supreme Court case involving Presidential Proclamation 9645 signed by President Donald Trump,which restricted travel into the United States by people from several nations,or by refugees without valid travel documents. Hawaii and several other states and groups challenged the Proclamation and two predecessor exechhhjhjutive orders also issued by Trump on statutory and constitutional grounds. Citing a variety of statements by Trump and administration officials,they argued that the proclamation and its predecessor orders were motivated by anti-Muslim animus.
Juliana,et al. v. United States of America,et al. was a climate-related lawsuit filed in 2015 and dismissed in 2020. Filed by 21 youth plaintiffs against the United States and several executive branch officials. Filing their case in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon,the plaintiffs,represented by the non-profit organization Our Children's Trust,include Xiuhtezcatl Martinez,the members of Martinez's organization Earth Guardians,and climatologist James Hansen as a "guardian for future generations". Some fossil fuel and industry groups initially intervened as defendants but later requested to be dropped following the 2016 presidential election,stating that the case would be well defended under the new administration.
Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California,591 U.S. 1 (2020),was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held by a 5–4 vote that a 2017 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) order to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program was "arbitrary and capricious" under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and reversed the order.
Our Children's Trust is an American nonprofit public interest law firm based in Oregon that has filed several lawsuits on behalf of youth plaintiffs against state and federal governments,arguing that they are infringing on the youths' rights to a safe climate system.
California v. Texas,593 U.S. 659 (2021),was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA),colloquially known as Obamacare. It was the third such challenge to the ACA seen by the Supreme Court since its enactment. The case in California followed after the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the change to the tax penalty amount for Americans without required insurance that reduced the "individual mandate" to zero,effective for months after December 31,2018. The District Court of the Northern District of Texas concluded that this individual mandate was a critical provision of the ACA and that,with a penalty amount equal to zero,some or all of the ACA was potentially unconstitutional as an improper use of Congress's taxation powers.
Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,591 U.S. 197 (2020) was a U.S. Supreme Court case which determined that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),with a single director who could only be removed from office "for cause",violated the separation of powers. Handed down on June 29,2020,the Court's 5–4 decision created a new test to determine when Congress may limit the power of the president of the United States to remove an officer of the United States from office.
Collins v. Yellen,594 U.S. ___ (2021),was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The case follows on the Court's prior ruling in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,which found that the establishing structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),with a single director who could only be removed from office "for cause",violated the separation of powers;the FHFA shares a similar structure as the CFPB. The case extends the legal challenge to the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008.
BP P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore,593 U.S. ___ (2021),was a case in the United States Supreme Court dealing with matters of jurisdiction of various climate change lawsuits in the United States judicial system.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Ass'n of America,Ltd.,601 U.S. 416 (2024),was a United States Supreme Court case where the Court ruled that the funding mechanism of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),which is allocated from the Federal Treasury budget rather that through Congressional appropriations,is constitutional under the Appropriations Clause.