James E. Simmons Jr.

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James E. Simmons Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Assumed office
March 10, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byAnthony J. Battaglia
Judge of the San Diego County Superior Court
In office
November 2, 2017 – March 10, 2023
Appointed byJerry Brown
Preceded byDavid M. Szumowski
Succeeded byAlejandro Morales
Personal details
Born
James Edward Simmons Jr.

1979 (age 44–45)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
EducationUniversity 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.

Early life and education[edit]

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]

Career[edit]

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]

State judicial service[edit]

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.

Federal judicial service[edit]

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]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Governor Brown Appoints 34 Superior Court Judges". www.ca.gov. November 2, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  2. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "President Biden Names Twenty-Third Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. June 29, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "Biden nominates two for San Diego federal court bench". San Diego Union-Tribune. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "Deputy DA Appointed to Superior Court Bench". 2 November 2017.
  6. ^ Sklar, Debbie L. (November 2, 2017). "Gov. Brown Appoints 2 to San Diego Superior Court Judgeships". Times of San Diego. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  7. ^ "Deputy DA Appointed to Superior Court Bench". DA NewsCenter. November 2, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  8. ^ "Feinstein, Padilla Support Nomination of Judges Simmons, Schopler to Southern District Court". United States Senator for California. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "PN2384 - Nomination of James Edward Simmons Jr. for The Judiciary, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  10. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. November 30, 2022.
  11. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 23, 2023.
  12. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 9, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: James Edward Simmons, Jr., to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California)". United States Senate. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  14. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: James Edward Simmons, Jr., of California, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California)". United States Senate. March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  15. ^ James E. Simmons Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

External links[edit]

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
2023–present 		Incumbent
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