![]() ![]() Judge Thomas is only the second Black woman to ever serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the largest federal court in the country, and the first Black woman from California.Īfter her clerkship, Judge Thomas spent five years as a Liman Fellow and Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. After graduation, Judge Thomas served as a Law Clerk for Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw on the U.S. In law school, Judge Thomas was an Editor on the Yale Law Journal and an Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellow. with Honors and Distinction from Stanford in 2000 and a J.D. Judge Thomas was interested in the law from an early age, recalling that her mother used to take her to the local courthouse while growing up in San Diego because Thomas “was interested in what going on.” While her parents had not graduated from college, her father went to night school on the weekends so he could earn his bachelor’s degree before Judge Thomas left for Stanford University. Judge Holly Thomas was born and raised in San Diego, California, the daughter of a bookkeeper and a school custodian. Moreover, few judges bring the breadth of substantive experience with some of our nation’s most important constitutional rights and legal protections to the bench, including the right to vote the right to marry, equal employment, housing, and educational opportunities, protections for pregnant people and advocating on behalf of service members. Immediately prior to her confirmation, she served as a Judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, presiding over thousands of hearings, including hundreds of cases that went to verdict or judgement. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where she received different awards and commendations for exceptional performance, including the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service and the John Marshall Award for Providing Legal Advice. (LDF) and in public service with the U.S. Judge Thomas has spent time as a civil rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. At the same time, her appellate litigation experience is substantial, having argued cases before the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Circuit Courts and been the counsel of record on multiple Supreme Court cases. Judge Thomas is the first Black woman to serve on the Ninth Circuit from California.įew judges can claim the breadth of experience that Judge Thomas brings to the Circuit: a civil rights attorney and a prosecutor, a litigator and an administrator, a state law practitioner and a federal law practitioner, and both a criminal law attorney and a civil law attorney. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on January 20, 2022, filling the seat vacated by Judge William Fletcher. Judge Holly Thomas was confirmed to the U.S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |