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Jamal Whitehead

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Jamal Whitehead

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Western District of Washington

Tenure

2023 - Present

Years in position

Predecessor:Richard Jones (Nonpartisan)

Education

Bachelor's

University of Washington, 2004

Law

Seattle University School of Law, 2007

Contact

Official website

Personal LinkedIn

Jamal Whitehead is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington. He was nominated to the court on July 13, 2022, by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on February 28, 2023, by a vote of 51-43.^[1]^[2]^[3] Whitehead was one of 235Article III judges nominated by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed byJoe Biden,click here.

Whitehead was a shareholder at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender inSeattle, Washington.^[1]

TheUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington is one of 94U.S. District Courts. They are the generaltrial courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the court,click here.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (2023-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On July 13, 2022, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Whitehead to theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington.^[4] Whitehead's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[5] The president renominated Whitehead on the same day.^[2] He was confirmed by a 51-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on February 28, 2023. Whitehead received commission on March 14, 2023.^[6] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Jamal Whitehead
Court:United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Progress
Confirmed 230 days after nomination.
ANominated: July 13, 2022
AABA Rating:Well qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: September 21, 2022
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: December 1, 2022 (initial nomination)
AConfirmed: February 28, 2023
AVote: 51-43

Confirmation vote

Whitehead was confirmed by a 51-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on February 28, 2023.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Jamal Whitehead confirmation vote (February 28, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	45	0	3
Republican	3	43	3
Independent	3	0	0
Total	51	43	6

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Whitehead's nomination on September 21, 2022. Whitehead was reported to the full Senate on December 1, 2022, after a 12-10 committee vote.^[7]

Whitehead's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[8] The president renominated Whitehead on the same day.^[2] In a committee hearing on February 2, 2023, Whitehead was reported to the full Senate, after a 11-9 committee vote.^[3]

Nomination

President Biden nominated Whitehead on July 13, 2022, to replace JudgeRichard Jones.^[4]

TheAmerican Bar Association rated Whiteheadwell qualified.^[9] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Whitehead's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[10] The president renominated Whitehead on the same day.^[2]

Biography

Education

Whitehead obtained a B.A. in political science from the University of Washington in 2004 and aJ.D. from the Seattle University School of Law in 2007.^[11]

Professional career

2023-present:United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
2016-2023: Shareholder, Schroeter Goldmark & Bender
2014-2016:Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Washington
2010-2014: Senior trial attorney,U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
2007-2010: Associate, Garvey Schubert Barer^[11]

About the court

Western District of Washington
Ninth Circuit

Judgeships
Posts: 7
Judges: 7
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:David G. Estudillo
Active judges:Tiffany Cartwright,John Chun,David G. Estudillo,Kymberly Evanson,Lauren King,Tana Lin,Jamal Whitehead Senior judges: Robert Bryan,John Coughenour,Carolyn Dimmick,Richard Jones,Robert Lasnik,Ricardo Martinez,Marsha Pechman,James Robart,Barbara Rothstein,Benjamin Hale Settle,Thomas Zilly

TheUnited States District Court for the Western District of Washington is one of 94United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Seattle and Tacoma,Wash. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse, but hears initial appeals at the Pioneer Federal Courthouse inPortland, Oregon.

The Western District of Washington hasoriginal jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Western District of Washington consists of all the followingcounties in the western part of the state ofWashington. The court's headquarters are inSeattle, with a courthouse inTacoma.

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by theSenate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends ablue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.