James Simmons is a judge for theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California. He was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on July 14, 2022, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on March 9, 2023, by a vote of 51-43.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Simmons 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.

TheUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California 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.

James Simmons was a judge of the Superior Court of San Diego County in California. His service ended on March 10, 2023 upon joining theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California.

Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections

United States District Court for the Southern District of California (2023-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On January 23, 2023, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Simmons to theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California.^[4] He was confirmed by a 51-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2023.^[1] Simmons received commission on March 10, 2023.^[6]

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: James Simmons
Court:United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Progress
Confirmed 45 days after nomination.
ANominated: January 23, 2023
AABA Rating:Well Qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: February 9, 2023
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: February 9, 2023
AConfirmed: March 9, 2023
AVote: 51-43

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Simmons by a vote of 51-43 on March 9, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

James Simmons confirmation vote (March 9, 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

For Simmons' second nomination, theSenate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on February 9, 2023. Simmons was reported to the full Senate after a 13-8 committee vote.^[5]

For Simmons' first nomination, theSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on November 30, 2022. Simmons' nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[7]

Nomination

President Biden nominated Simmons on July 14, 2022. Simmons was nominated to replace JudgeAnthony J. Battaglia, who assumedsenior status on March 31, 2022.^[8]

Simmons' nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[9] The president renominated Simmons on January 23, 2023.^[4]

TheAmerican Bar Association (ABA) rated SimmonsWell Qualified.^[10] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Superior Court of San Diego County (2017-2023)

Simmons became a judge on theSuperior Court of San Diego County in 2017.^[2]

2018 election

Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled.James Simmons (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.

Selection method

See also:Nonpartisan election

The1,535 judges of theCalifornia Superior Courts compete innonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.^{[11][12][13][14]}

If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.^[11]

Thechief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.^[11]

Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.^[11]

Biography

Education

Simmons obtained a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001 and aJ.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2004.^[2]

Professional career

• 2023-present: Judge,Southern District of California
• 2017-2023: Judge,Superior Court of San Diego County, California
• 2006-2017: Deputy district attorney, San Diego District Attorney’s Office
• 2005-2006: Deputy city attorney, San Diego City Attorney’s Office^[2]

About theSouthern District of California

Southern District of California
Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 13
Judges: 12
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief:Dana Sabraw
Active judges:Cynthia A. Bashant,Cathy Bencivengo,Benjamin Cheeks,Robert Huie,Linda Lopez,Ruth Bermudez Montenegro,Jinsook Ohta,Todd Robinson,Dana Sabraw,Janis Sammartino,Andrew G. Schopler,James Simmons Senior judges: Michael Anello,Anthony J. Battaglia,Roger Benitez,Gonzalo P. Curiel,William Hayes,John Houston,Marilyn Huff,James Lorenz,Jeffrey Miller,Barry Moskowitz,Thomas Whelan

TheUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California is one of 94United States district courts. The district operates out of three courthouses in San Diego and one in El Centro. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit based in downtownSan Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse.

The Southern District of California 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 Southern District of California consists of theImperial andSan Diegocounties in the southern part of the state ofCalifornia.

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.

See also

• Southern District of California
• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Courts in California
• California Superior Courts
• San Diego County, California
• San Diego, California

External links

• United States District Court for the Southern District of California
• Biography from theFederal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California
Active judges	Chief Judge: Dana Sabraw  •  Janis Sammartino  •  Cathy Bencivengo  •  Cynthia A. Bashant  •  Ruth Bermudez Montenegro  •  Andrew Schopler  •  James Simmons (California)  •  Todd Robinson (California)  •  Linda Lopez (California)  •  Jinsook Ohta  •  Robert Huie
Senior judges	Michael Anello  •  Roger Benitez  •  William Hayes  •  Thomas Whelan  •  John Houston (California)  •  Barry Moskowitz  •  Jeffrey Miller  •  James Lorenz  •  Marilyn Huff  •  Anthony J. Battaglia  •  Gonzalo Curiel  •
Magistrate judges	Barbara Major  •  Karen Crawford  •  Bernard Skomal  •  Jill L. Burkhardt  •  Mitchell D. Dembin  •  Michael Berg (federal magistrate judge)  •  Allison Goddard  •  Daniel Butcher (California)  •
Former Article III judges	Erskine Mayo Ross  •  James Marshall Carter  •  Ogden Hoffman  •  James McHall Jones  •  Isaac Stockton Keith Ogier  •  Fletcher Mathews Haight  •  Olin Wellborn  •  Benjamin Franklin Bledsoe  •  Oscar Trippet  •  William James  •  Irma Gonzalez (federal judge)  •  Rudi Brewster  •  Gordon Thompson  •  Larry Burns  •  Napoleon Jones  •  Edward Henning  •  Paul John McCormick  •  John Clifford Wallace  •  George Cosgrave  •  Harry Aaron Hollzer  •  Albert Lee Stephens, Sr.  •  Leon Rene Yankwich  •  Ralph Jenney  •  Campbell Beaumont  •  Albert Lee Stephens, Jr.  •  William Byrne, Sr.  •  Charles Carr  •  Thurmond Clarke  •  Elisha Crary  •  Jesse Curtis  •  William Gray (California)  •  Peirson Hall  •  Andrew Hauk  •  Irving Hill  •  Reuben Brooks  •  Leo Papas  •  Francis Whelan  •  Earl Gilliam  •  Lawrence Irving  •  Judith Keep  •  Fred Kunzel  •  William Mathes  •  Leland Nielsen  •  James O'Connor (California)  •  John Rhoades  •  Edward Schwartz  •  Ernest Tolin  •  Jacob Weinberger  •  Harry Westover  •  Howard Turrentine  •  Benjamin Harrison (Federal Judge)  •
Former Chief judges	James Marshall Carter  •  Irma Gonzalez (federal judge)  •  Gordon Thompson  •  Larry Burns  •  Marilyn Huff  •  Paul John McCormick  •  Leon Rene Yankwich  •  William Byrne, Sr.  •  Thurmond Clarke  •  Peirson Hall  •  Judith Keep  •  Fred Kunzel  •  William Mathes  •  Edward Schwartz  •  Howard Turrentine  •  Benjamin Harrison (Federal Judge)  •

v • e Federal judges nominated to Article III courts byJoe Biden
Commissioned in 2025	Keli Neary
Commissioned in 2024	John Kazen •John Russell •Margaret Garnett •Cristal Brisco •Jacquelyn Austin •Gretchen Hess Lund •Micah Smith •Joshua Kolar •Karoline Mehalchick •Kirk Sherriff •Lisa Wang •David Leibowitz •Jacqueline Becerra •Julie Sneed •Melissa Damian •Kelly H. Rankin •Nicole Berner •Sunil Harjani •Leon Schydlower •Ernesto Gonzalez •Susan Bazis •Robert White •Ann Marie McIff Allen •Eumi Lee •Krissa Lanham •Eric Schulte •Camela Theeler •Angela Martinez •Jasmine Yoon •Nancy Maldonado •Meredith Vacca •Georgia Alexakis •Joseph Saporito •Amy Baggio •Stacey Neumann •Mary Kay Lanthier •Adam Abelson •Laura Provinzino •Mary Kay Costello •Dena Coggins •Kevin Ritz •Shanlyn A. S. Park •Byron Conway •Jeannette Vargas •Michelle Williams Court •Jonathan E. Hawley •April Perry •Mustafa Kasubhai •Sarah Russell •Amir Ali •Rebecca Pennell •Anthony Brindisi •Elizabeth Coombe •Cynthia Valenzuela •Anne Hwang •Brian Murphy •Noël Wise •Sanket Bulsara •Tiffany Johnson •Sparkle Sooknanan •Gail Weilheimer •Embry Kidd •Melissa DuBose •Sharad Desai •Serena R. Murillo •Benjamin Cheeks •Sarah Davenport
Commissioned in 2023	Kai Scott •Tamika Montgomery-Reeves •Margaret R. Guzman •Daniel Calabretta •Matthew Garcia •DeAndrea G. Benjamin •Cindy Chung •Adrienne Nelson •Lindsay Jenkins •Gina Méndez-Miró •Araceli Martínez-Olguín •Jamar Walker •Ana Reyes •Jamal Whitehead •Gordon Gallagher •Matthew Brookman•Maria Araujo Kahn• James Simmons •Robert Ballou• Andrew Schopler •Jonathan Grey•Colleen Lawless •Arun Subramanian •Jessica Clarke •Robert Kirsch •Michael Farbiarz •Anthony Johnstone •Orelia Merchant •Wesley Hsu •Bradley Garcia •LaShonda A. Hunt •Nancy Gbana Abudu •Amanda Brailsford •Darrel Papillion •Jeremy Daniel •Hernan D. Vera •Julie Rikelman •Nusrat Choudhury •P. Casey Pitts •Myong Joun •Kymberly Evanson •Tiffany Cartwright •Rachel Bloomekatz •Natasha Merle •Dale Ho •Philip Hadji •Rita Lin •Brendan Hurson •Vernon D. Oliver •Matthew Maddox •Julia Munley •Brandy McMillion •Susan DeClercq •Julia Kobick •Ramon Reyes, Jr. •Ana de Alba •Kenly Kiya Kato •Mónica Ramírez Almadani •Jeffrey M. Bryan •Jamel Semper •Irma Ramirez •Richard Federico •Loren AliKhan •Brandon Long •Jerry Edwards Jr.•Sara Hill •Joseph Laroski
Commissioned in 2022	David Herrera Urias •Gabriel Sanchez •Holly Thomas •Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong •David Ruiz •Charles Fleming •Bridget Brennan •Leonard Stark •Alison J. Nathan •John Chun •Julie Rubin •Jacqueline Scott Corley •Ruth Bermudez Montenegro •Victoria Calvert •Georgette Castner •Anne Traum •Cristina Silva •Ketanji Brown Jackson (Supreme Court) •Sarah Geraghty •Hector Gonzalez •Fred Slaughter •Jennifer Rochon •Robert Huie •Sunshine S. Sykes • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Evelyn Padin • Sherilyn P. Garnett • Ana de Alba • J. Michelle Childs • Trina Thompson • Elizabeth Hanes • Nancy Maldonado • Nina Morrison • Gregory Williams • John Z. Lee • Sal Mendoza, Jr. • Lara Montecalvo • Florence Pan • Andre Mathis • Sarah A.L. Merriam •Jennifer Rearden • Roopali Desai • María Antongiorgi-Jordán • Camille Vélez-Rivé • Doris Pryor • Frances Kay Behm • Dana Douglas • Mia Roberts Perez • Anne Nardacci •Jeffery P. Hopkins
Commissioned in 2021	Ketanji Brown Jackson • Zahid Quraishi •Julien Xavier Neals • Deborah Boardman • Regina Rodriguez • Candace Jackson-Akiwumi • Lydia Kay Griggsby • Tiffany Cunningham • Eunice Lee • Angel Kelley •Florence Pan •Veronica Rossman • David G. Estudillo • Sarah A.L. Merriam •Gustavo Gelpí • Christine O'Hearn •Margaret Strickland • Karen McGlashan Williams •Patricia Tolliver Giles • Toby Heytens •Michael Nachmanoff •Sarala Nagala • Beth Robinson • Omar A. Williams • Myrna Pérez • Jia Cobb • Tana Lin • Lauren King • Lucy H. Koh • Jennifer Sung • Samantha Elliott • Katherine Menendez • Mary Dimke • Linda Lopez • Shalina Kumar • Jane Beckering • Jinsook Ohta • Jennifer L. Thurston •Stephen Locher •Charlotte Sweeney •Nina Nin-Yuen Wang •Arianna Freeman •Jerry Blackwell