Kirk Sherriff

Eastern District of California
	Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 6
	Judges: 6
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Troy L. Nunley
	Active judges: Daniel Calabretta, Dena Coggins, Dale A. Drozd, Troy L. Nunley, Kirk Sherriff, Jennifer L. Thurston; Senior judges:; Garland Burrell, Morrison England, Anthony Ishii, John Mendez, Kimberly Mueller, Lawrence O'Neill, William Shubb

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Kirk Sherriff
	Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Progress
	Confirmed 77 days after nomination.
	Nominated: November 15, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: November 29, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: January 18, 2023
	Confirmed: January 31, 2024
	Vote: 54-45

Kirk Sherriff is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on November 15, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 31, 2024, by a vote of 54-45.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Sherriff was an assistant United States attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On November 15, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Sherriff to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.^[3]^[2] Sherriff received commission on February 7, 2024.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Sherriff by a vote of 54-45 on January 31, 2024.^[4] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Sherriff confirmation vote (January 31, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	0
Republican	3	45	1
Independent	3	0	0
Total	54^[5]	45	1

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Sherriff's nomination on November 29, 2023.^[6] He was reported to the full Senate on January 18, 2023, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[7]

Nomination

On September 6, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Kirk Sherriff to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. The president officially nominated Sherriff on November 15, 2023. Sherriff's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2024. The president renominated Sherriff on January 8, 2024.^[4] Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

"The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Sherriff well qualified.^[8] To read more about ABA ratings, click here."

Sherriff was nominated to replace Judge Ana de Alba, who was elevated to United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on November 13, 2023.^[9]

Biography

Education

Sherriff earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1990 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1995.^[1]

Professional career

2024-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
2002-2024: Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of California
- 2015-2024: chief, Fresno Office
- 2007-2024: Criminal Division
- 2013-2015: White Collar Crime Unit
- 2002-2007: Civil Division
1995-1996, 1997-2001: Private practice
1996-1997: Law clerk^[1]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates at courthouses in Sacramento, Fresno, Redding, Bakersfield, and Yosemite When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in downtown San Francisco, California, at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse. The Eastern District of California has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of California consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of California.

There are five court divisions, with the two main court divisions covering the following counties:

The Fresno Division, covering Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties

The Sacramento Division, covering Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba counties

The Eastern Division hears cases from Riverside and San Bernardino counties at its Riverside courthouse.

The Bakersfield office has jurisdiction over certain cases in Inyo and Kern counties and on federal lands and National Parks. These cases are heard in courthouses in Bakersfield, at Edwards Air Force Base, and in Independence, California.

The Redding/Susanville office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks in four locations: Alturas, Chester, Herlong and Redding.

The South Lake Tahoe office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks.

The Yosemite office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for Yosemite National Park.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

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 the Senate 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 a blue 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.