Susan Bazis

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska

Tenure

2024 - Present

Years in position

1

Predecessor:John Gerrard (Nonpartisan)

Prior offices:

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska

Years in office: 2017 - 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Nebraska, Omaha, 1990

Law

Creighton University School of Law, 1993

Susan Bazis is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the District of Nebraska. She was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on January 10, 2024, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on April 9, 2024, by a vote of 78-21.^[1][2][3][4] Bazis 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 District of Nebraska 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, Bazis was afederal magistrate judge for theUnited States District Court for the District of Nebraska.^[5]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On January 10, 2024, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Bazis to theUnited States District Court for the District of Nebraska.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Susan Bazis
Court:United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
Progress
Confirmed 90 days after nomination.
ANominated: January 10, 2024
AABA Rating: Well Qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: January 24, 2024
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: February 29, 2024
AConfirmed: April 9, 2024
AVote: 78-21

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Bazis by a vote of 78-21 on April 9, 2024.^[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Bazis confirmation vote (April 9, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	1
Republican	27	21	0
Independent	3	0	0
Total	78[6]	21	1

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Bazis' nomination on January 24, 2024. Bazis was reported to the full Senate on February 29, 2024, after a 18-3 committee vote.^[7]Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On December 19, 2023, PresidentJoe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Bazis to theUnited States District Court for the District of Nebraska. The president officially nominated Bazis on January 10, 2024.Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by PresidentJoe Biden.

Bazis was nominated to replace JudgeJohn Gerrard, who assumedsenior status on February 6, 2023.^[8][5]

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

Bazis was nominated to replace JudgeJohn Gerrard, who assumedsenior status on February 6, 2023.^[8][5]

Biography

Education

Bazis earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 1990 and a law degree from Creighton University School of Law in 1993.^[4]

Professional career

• 2024-Present: Judge,United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
• 2017-2024:Federal magistrate judge,United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
• 2007-2016: Judge, Douglas County, Nebraska
  • 2010-2013: Presiding judge
• 1993-1994, 1996-2007: Private practice,Omaha, Nebraska^[4]

About the court

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

The jurisdiction of the District of Nebraska consists of all thecounties in the state ofNebraska.

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.

Federal magistrate judge

District of Nebraska

Bazis served as afederal magistrate judge with theUnited States District Court for the District of Nebraska from January 1, 2017, to April 10, 2024.^[5]

Elections

2016

See also:Nebraska local trial court judicial elections, 2016

Nebraska held retention elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run for retention was August 1, 2016.^[10]Susan Bazis was retained in the 4th County Court Judicial District, Nebraska, Seat 4 election with 72.91 percent of the vote.^[11]

4th County Court Judicial District, Nebraska, Seat 4, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Susan Bazis	72.91%
Source:Nebraska Secretary of State, "Unofficial Results: General Election - November 8, 2016: Judicial," accessed November 9, 2016

2010

See also:Nebraska judicial elections, 2010

Bazis wasretained to the4th County Court in 2010.^[12]

Judicial selection method

See also:Assisted appointment

Judges of theNebraska County Courts are each appointed to six-year terms.^[13] Judges are re-elected inretention elections. To serve on this court, a judge must be a U.S. citizen, a district resident, 30 years of age or older, and a member of the state bar. They must also have five years of experience in state practice.^[14]

2012 judicial performance evaluation

Every two years, the Nebraska State Bar Association compiles responses from lawyers to evaluate judges in the state. Subjects are rated in seven categories, then a determination is made for whether the judge should be retained. The seven categories considered are: legal analysis; impartiality; attentiveness; opinions; judicial temperament and demeanor; appropriate communication; and timeliness.

95.2 percent of respondents stated that Judge Bazis should be retained in office. To read the full evaluation, see:Nebraska State Bar Association, 2012 Evaluation Results.

See also

• United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
• United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
• Courts in Nebraska
• Nebraska County Courts

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Nebraska website
• Nebraska Judicial Branch, "Honorable Susan M. Bazis"
• Biography from theFederal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served theUnited States District Court for the District of Nebraska
Active judges	Chief Judge: Robert F. Rossiter, Jr.  •  Susan Bazis  •  Brian Buescher
Senior judges	John Gerrard  •  Joseph Bataillon  •
Magistrate judges	Michael Nelson (Nebraska)  •
Former Article III judges	Laurie Smith Camp  •  Richard Kopf  •  Lyle Strom  •  Warren Urbom  •  William Cambridge  •  Arlen Beam  •  Elmer Scipio Dundy  •  William Douglas McHugh  •  William Henry Munger  •  Thomas Charles Munger  •  Joseph William Woodrough  •  James Donohoe  •  Thomas Shanahan  •  John Delehant  •  Robert Denney  •  Richard Dier  •  Albert Schatz  •  Robert Van Pelt  •  Richard Robinson (Nebraska)  •
Former Chief judges	John Gerrard  •  Joseph Bataillon  •  Laurie Smith Camp  •  Richard Kopf  •  Lyle Strom  •  Warren Urbom  •  William Cambridge  •  Arlen Beam  •  James Donohoe  •  John Delehant  •  Richard Robinson (Nebraska)  •

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