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Mónica Ramírez Almadani

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Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Central District of California

Tenure

2023 - Present

Years in position

Predecessor:John A. Kronstadt (Nonpartisan)

Elections and appointments

Appointed

December 21, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard University, 2001

Law

Stanford Law School, 2004

Mónica Ramírez Almadani is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California. She was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on January 23, 2023, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on November 9, 2023, by a vote of 51-44.^[1]^[2]^[3] Almadani 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 Central 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.

Prior to joining the court, Almadani was the President and CEO of Public Counsel.^[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

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

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On January 23, 2023, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Ramírez Almadani to theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California.^[2]^[1] Almadani received commission on November 21, 2023.^[3] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Mónica Ramírez Almadani
Court:United States District Court for the Central District of California
Progress
Confirmed 290 days after nomination.
ANominated: January 23, 2023
AABA Rating: Well qualified by a majority/Qualified by a minority
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: February 15, 2023
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: April 20, 2023
AConfirmed: November 9, 2023
AVote: 51-44

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Almadani by a vote of 51-44 on November 9, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Almadani confirmation vote (November 9, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	1	44	4
Independent	3	0	0
Total	51^[4]	44	5

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Ramírez Almadani's nomination on February 15, 2023. She was reported to the full Senate on April 20, 2023, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[5]Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee hearing.

Nomination

On December 21, 2022, PresidentJoe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Ramírez Almadani to theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California. The president officially nominated Ramírez Almadani on January 23, 2023.Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by PresidentJoe Biden.

Ramírez Almadani was nominated to replace JudgeJohn A. Kronstadt, who assumedsenior status on April 1, 2022.^[1]

TheAmerican Bar Association (ABA) rated Ramírez Almadaniwell qualified by a majority/qualified by a minority.^[6] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Biography

Education

Ramírez Almadani earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2004 and her A.B. from Harvard University in 2001.^[3]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge,United States District Court for the Central District of California
2021-2023: President and chief executive officer, Public Counsel, Los Angeles, California
2019-2021: Visiting assistant clinical professor of law and co-director, Immigrant Rights Clinic, University of California, Irvine School of Law
2017-2019: Private practice, Los Angeles, California
2015-2017: Special assistant attorney general, State of California
2012-2015: Assistant U.S. attorney,United States District Court for the Central District of California
2009-2012: U.S. Department of Justice
- 2009-2011: counsel to the assistant attorney general, Civil Rights Division
- 2011-2012: deputy chief of staff to the deputy attorney general
2005-2009: Immigrants' Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, San Francisco, California
- 2007-2009: staff attorney
- 2005-2007: Equal Justice Works Fellow
2004-2005: Law clerk,Warren Ferguson,United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit^[2] She began serving on theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California on November 21, 2023.^[3]

About the court

Central District of California
Ninth Circuit

Judgeships
Posts: 28
Judges: 28
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:Dolly Gee
Active judges:Fernando Aenlle-Rocha,Mónica Ramírez Almadani,Percy Anderson,Jesus Bernal,André Birotte Jr.,Stanley Blumenfeld,David Carter,Michelle Williams Court,Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong,Michael Fitzgerald,Sherilyn P. Garnett,Dolly Gee,John William Holcomb,Wesley L. Hsu,Anne Hwang,Kenly Kiya Kato,Robert Klausner,Serena R. Murillo,Fernando Olguin,Mark C. Scarsi,Fred W. Slaughter,Josephine Staton,Sunshine S. Sykes,Cynthia Valenzuela,Hernán D. Vera,John Walter,Stephen Wilson,Otis Wright Senior judges: Valerie Baker Fairbank,Dale Fischer,Terry Hatter,Aaron Kampfe,William Duffy Keller,John A. Kronstadt,Ronald Lew,Consuelo Marshall,Virginia Phillips,Dean Pregerson,James Selna,Christina Snyder,George Wu

TheUnited States District Court for the Central District of California is one of 94United States district courts. The court serves about seventeen million people in southern and centralCalifornia, making it the largest federal judicial district by population. The district operates out of courthouses in Santa Ana, Riverside and two locations in Los Angeles. 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. Initial appeals are heard in Pasadena at the Richard Chambers Courthouse.

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

There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:

TheEastern Division, coveringRiverside andSan Bernardino counties.^[7]

TheSouthern Division, coveringOrange County.^[7]

TheWestern Division, coveringLos Angeles,Santa Barbara,San Luis Obispo andVentura counties.^[7]

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.