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Kimberly J. Mueller

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Kimberly J. Mueller
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Assumed office
January 1, 2020
Preceded byLawrence Joseph O'Neill
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Assumed office
December 21, 2010
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byFrank C. Damrell Jr.
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
In office
2003–2010
Member of the Sacramento City Council
from the 6th district
In office
1987–1992
Preceded byWilliam Smallman
Succeeded byDarrell Steinberg
Personal details
Born (1957-09-17) September 17, 1957 (age 66)
Newton, Kansas, U.S.
EducationPomona College (BA)
Stanford University (JD)
Magistrate portrait

Kimberly Jo Mueller (born September 17, 1957) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, in the Sacramento division. She is the first female district judge to serve in the Eastern District.[1]

Education

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Mueller obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College in 1981, and a Juris Doctor from Stanford University in 1995.[2][3]

Career

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Political career

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Mueller served as an extern for California State Assemblyman Lloyd Connelly. After moving to Sacramento's Tahoe Park neighborhood, Mueller was elected to the Sacramento City Council, where she served from 1987 through 1992.[2][4]

While on the council, Mueller was selected to serve as Vice-Mayor and chair of the city's budget committee. She also led a successful effort with then-Mayor Anne Rudin to introduce campaign finance reform to the city's politics.[5][6][7]

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Mueller left her position on the Sacramento City Council in 1992 to attend Stanford Law School.[4] After graduation, she worked for five years at the Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, and later opened her own private practice.[2]

In 2003, Mueller was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge of the Sacramento division of United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, becoming just the second woman to hold this position since the Eastern District was established in 1966.[8][9]

Mueller was formerly an adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and UC Davis School of Law.[3]

Federal judicial service

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On March 10, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Mueller to serve as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.[10] Her nomination was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on December 16, 2010.[11] Mueller received her commission on December 21, 2010.[3] She became chief judge of the Eastern District of California on January 1, 2020.[12]

Notable cases

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On February 25, 2015, Mueller upheld California's Unsafe Handgun Act (also known as the handgun roster) as constitutional.[13] The Ninth Circuit affirmed the opinion on August 3, 2018.[14]

On April 17, 2015, Mueller held that criminal defendants charged with marijuana-related crimes had standing to bring a constitutional challenge to marijuana's Schedule I status, but ultimately rejected Defendants' constitutional arguments.[15]

On December 21, 2015, Mueller rejected a First Amendment challenge, filed by crisis pregnancy centers, to California's law requiring them to provide notice to clients regarding the availability of abortions and contraception.[16] The Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision,[17] but the Supreme Court reversed it.[18]

On December 29, 2022, Mueller upheld as constitutional California's ban on openly carrying handguns.[19] The Ninth Circuit reversed the decision on June 29, 2023 saying Mueller "applied the incorrect legal standard" to the case, remanding back to District Court.[20]

Mueller presides over the decades-long case Coleman v. Newsom, a class action challenging the conditions in California's prisons that resulted in a mandated reduction in the prison population and new requirements for medical care, mental health care, and suicide prevention in prisons. She also sits on the three-judge panel that adjudicates certain issues in Coleman and the related case, Brown v. Plata.[21]

Mueller also issued some of the earliest decisions interpreting the First Step Act in the context of requests for compassionate release due to the risk of COVID-19 filed by incarcerated individuals with comorbities.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Walsh, Denny (2010-12-17). "Senate confirms Mueller as federal judge". Sacramento Bee. The McClatchy Company. p. 2B. Archived from the original (fee required) on 2008-07-12. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  2. ^ a b c "District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller". United States District Court, Eastern District of California. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  3. ^ a b c Kimberly J. Mueller at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  4. ^ a b "New Magistrate Judge Took Unconventional Path to Federal Bench". Sacramento County Bar Association. 2003. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
  5. ^ "Ferris becomes Sacramento Vice Mayor". Sacramento Bee. The McClatchy Company. January 3, 1990. p. B3. Archived from the original (fee required) on July 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-11. Councilwoman Kim Mueller, who held the title last year, nominated Ferris to take her place in 1990
  6. ^ "Mueller Leads Budget Panel". Sacramento Bee. The McClatchy Company. January 5, 1990. p. B8. Archived from the original (fee required) on July 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  7. ^ "Rudin, Mueller Call for Campaign Reform". Sacramento Bee. The McClatchy Company. December 15, 1988. p. B1. Archived from the original (fee required) on July 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  8. ^ Hubert, Cynthia (2003-10-02). "Bench mark: Kim Mueller, the only female U.S. magistrate judge in Sacramento, has a lifelong commitment to public service". Sacramento Bee. The McClatchy Company. p. E1. Archived from the original (fee required) on 2008-07-12. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  9. ^ "A History of the Eastern District of California". United States District Court for the Eastern District of California Historical Society. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  10. ^ "President Obama Nominates Judge Catherine Eagles, Judge Kimberly Mueller and John J. McConnell, Jr. to the United States District Court" (Press release). The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  11. ^ Phillip, Abby (2010-12-16). "Senate confirms judicial nominees". POLITICO.com. Capitol News Company LLC. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  12. ^ "Judicial Milestones: Kimberly J. Mueller, uscourts.gov
  13. ^ "Peña v. Lindley District Court Opinion" (PDF). CourtListener. February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "Peña v. Lindley Ninth Circuit Opinion" (PDF). Ninth Circuit. August 3, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  15. ^ "U.S. v. Pickard District Court Opinion". V Lex. April 17, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  16. ^ "Woman's Friend Pregnancy Res. Clinic v. Harrus District Court Opinion". CaseText. December 18, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  17. ^ "Woman's Friend Pregnancy Res. Clinic v. Becerra Ninth Circuit Opinion" (PDF). CaseText. October 14, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  18. ^ "Woman's Friend Pregnancy Res. Clinic v. Becerra Ninth Circuit Opinion". SCOTUS Blog. August 28, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  19. ^ "Baird v. Bonta District Court Opinion" (PDF). CourtListener. December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  20. ^ "Baird v. Bonta Ninth Circuit Opinion". Justia. December 29, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  21. ^ "See, e.g., Coleman v. Newsom District Court Opinion". CaseText. April 4, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  22. ^ "See, e.g., U.S. v. Bradley District Court Opinion". CaseText. July 6, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
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Political offices
Preceded by
William Smallman
 Member of the Sacramento City Council for the 6th District
1987–1992 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
2010–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
2020–present
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