Diane Humetewa | |
|---|---|
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| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Arizona | |
| Assumed office May 16, 2014 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Mary H. Murguia |
| United States Attorney for theDistrict of Arizona | |
| In office December 17, 2007 – August 2, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Paul K. Charlton |
| Succeeded by | Dennis K. Burke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Diane Joyce Humetewa 1964 (age 60–61) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality | American Hopi Nation |
| Political party | Republican[citation needed] |
| Education | Phoenix College (AA) Arizona State University (BS,JD) |
Diane Joyce Humetewa (/ˌhuːməˈteɪwə/HOO-mə-TAY-wə;[1] born 1964)[2][3] is aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Arizona. Humetewa is the firstNative American woman and the first enrolled tribal member to serve as a U.S. federal judge.[4][5] She previously served as theUnited States Attorney for theDistrict of Arizona from 2007 to 2009. Humetewa is also a Professor of Practice atArizona State University'sSandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
Humetewa has served as counsel to theSenate Committee on Indian Affairs and to the Deputy Attorney General for theUnited States Department of Justice, as a member of the United States Sentencing Guideline Commission, Native American Advisory Committee, and as an Appellate Court Judge for theHopi Tribe, of which she is an enrolled member.[6]
Humetewa was born in 1964 inPhoenix, Arizona. She isNative American and is an enrolled member of theHopi tribe.[7] She earned anassociate degree fromPhoenix College in 1985, then graduated fromArizona State University in 1987 with aBachelor of Science. From 1987 to 1990, Humetewa worked as a victim advocate for theU.S. Attorney's Office for the Arizonafederal judicial district. She then attended Arizona State'sSandra Day O'Connor College of Law, graduating in 1993 with aJuris Doctor.[8]
From 1993 to 1996, Humetewa was a deputy counsel for theU.S. Senate'sCommittee on Indian Affairs. Beginning in 1996, she served as the Tribal Liaison in the office of the United States Attorney for Arizona. From 2001 to 2007, she served there as Senior Litigation Counsel.[7] In January 2007 Humetewa was recommended as a United States attorney by a United States Attorney.[9][10][11]
Humetewa was the permanent successor toPaul K. Charlton, whose dismissal on December 7, 2006, was a prominent aspect of thedismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy in the Bush administration in early 2007.Daniel G. Knauss served as interim United States Attorney for one year after Charlton's dismissal. During that period, Knauss and Humetewa continued to pursue the criminal investigation of CongressmanRick Renzi (R-AZ), begun by Charlton in September 2006. Renzi was indicted by the United States Attorney's office on February 22, 2008.[11]
A graduate of the Indian Legal Program at the ASU college of law, Humetewa is considered a national expert on Native American legal issues; she has instructed law enforcement and prosecutors on this topic. From 2002 to 2007, she served as a judgepro tem on the Hopi Tribal Appellate Court, and as anad hoc member of the Native American Subcommittee of theUnited States Sentencing Commission.[12] Humetewa resigned effective August 2, 2009, when PresidentBarack Obama nominatedDennis K. Burke as the next United States attorney for the District of Arizona.[13][14] She was appointed in 2011 as ASU's Special Advisor to the university president for American Indian Affairs and Special Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at ASU.[7][11]
On September 19, 2013, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Humetewa to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, to the seat vacated by JudgeMary H. Murguia, who was elevated to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on January 4, 2011.[15][16] Humetewa was one of four Arizona judicial nominees announced by Obama that day who were chosen in consultation with Republican senatorsJohn McCain andJeff Flake.[17] On February 27, 2014, her nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary committee.[18] On May 12, 2014, Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid filed forcloture on the nomination. On May 14, 2014, theUnited States Senate invokedcloture on her nomination by a 64–34 vote.[19] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 96–0 vote, with three Democrats and 1 Republican not voting.[20] She received her judicial commission on May 16, 2014.[11]
Following the death of JusticeAntonin Scalia in February 2016, Humetewa was mentioned as a possible consensus nominee for a vacancy on theUnited States Supreme Court, considered able to make it through theRepublican-controlledSenate.[21]
Humetewa is an enrolled member of theHopi Nation.[22] As of October 2021, she is the fourth Native-American federal judge actively serving on the bench.[5]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Arizona 2014–present | Incumbent |
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