Sunshine Sykes
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Assumed office
June 14, 2022
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byJames V. Selna
Judge of the Riverside County Superior Court
In office
December 5, 2013 – June 14, 2022
Appointed byJerry Brown
Preceded byRandall White
Succeeded byMagdalena Cohen
Personal details
Born
Sunshine Suzanne Sykes

1974 (age 49–50)
Tuba City, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
EducationStanford University (BA, JD)

Sunshine Suzanne Sykes (born 1974)[2] is an American lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.[3] She previously served as a judge of the California Superior Court for Riverside County from 2013 to 2022.

Early life and education

Sykes was born on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Tuba City, Arizona, and was raised in Gallup, New Mexico. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1997 and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 2001.[4]

Career

From 2001 to 2003, Sykes worked as a staff attorney for California Indian Legal Services. From 2003 to 2005, she was a contract attorney for the Defense Panel at the Southwest Justice Center. She also worked for the California Department of Social Services. From 2005 to 2013, Sykes served as deputy county counsel for Riverside County, California. In 2013, she was nominated by then-Governor Jerry Brown to serve as a judge on the Riverside County Superior Court.[3][5]

Federal judicial service

Sykes testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee

On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Sykes to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Presiden Biden nominated Sykes to the seat vacated by Judge James V. Selna, who assumed senior status on March 3, 2020.[6] On February 1, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[7] On March 10, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[8] On May 17, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 51–45 vote.[9] On May 18, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 51–45 vote.[10] She received her judicial commission on June 14, 2022.[11] Sykes became the fifth American Indian ever to serve on the federal bench.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Governor Brown Appoints Sunshine S. Sykes to Riverside County Superior Court". www.ca.gov. December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "President Biden Names Eleventh Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  4. ↑ "Taking the Stand: Judge Sunshine Sykes". Stanford Law School. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  5. ↑ Staff, Native News Online (15 December 2021). "Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes, Navajo, Nominated for U.S. District Court". Native News Online. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  6. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. December 15, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ↑ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. January 31, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 10, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  9. ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Sunshine Suzanne Sykes to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California)". United States Senate. May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  10. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Sunshine Suzanne Sykes, of California, to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California)". United States Senate. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ Sunshine Sykes at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  12. ↑ "Republicans Cast Second Circuit Nominee as Soft on Crime (2)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
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