Thomas Rice | |
---|---|
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington | |
In office January 27, 2016 –July 24, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Rosanna M. Peterson |
Succeeded by | Stanley Bastian |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington | |
Assumed office March 8,2012 | |
Appointed by | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Robert H. Whaley |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas Owen Rice December 9,1960 Spokane,Washington,U.S. |
Education | Gonzaga University (BBA,JD) |
Thomas Owen Rice (born December 9,1960) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Born in Spokane,Washington,Rice earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Gonzaga University in 1983 and a Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1986. [1] [2]
From 1986 until early 1987,Rice worked for the United States Department of Justice as a trial attorney in Washington in the department's tax division. [1] From 1987 to 2012,Rice worked in the United States Attorney's Office for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1987 to 2012. He served as the deputy criminal chief for his prosecutor's office from 2000 until 2003,and then was the criminal chief from 2003 until 2006. [1] From 2006 until his appointment to the bench,he was a First Assistant United States Attorney. [1] [2]
On June 29,2011,President Obama nominated Rice to the seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington that had been vacated by Judge Robert H. Whaley,who assumed senior status in 2009. [3] He received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 20,2011. His nomination was reported out of committee on October 13,2011 by voice vote. [4] On March 6,2012,the United States Senate confirmed Rice's nomination by a 93–4 vote. [5] He received his commission on March 8,2012. [2] Rice served as Chief Judge of the court from January 27,2016 to July 24,2020. [6]
In April 2023,in a lawsuit brought by 17 states and the District of Columbia,Rice issued a temporary injunction that the Food and Drug Administration should not reduce access to the abortion medication mifepristone in these states and the district. [7] [8]
Rosanna Malouf Peterson is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington and a former professor at Gonzaga University School of Law. She is the first female judge to serve in the Eastern District.
Lucy Haeran Koh is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Koh previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021. She also served as a California state court judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2008 to 2010. She is the first Korean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the United States.
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations,Congress confirmed 329 judgeships,173 during the 111th &112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.
Leonard Philip Stark is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and was a United States magistrate judge of the same district.
Robert Lee Pitman is an American attorney and jurist who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and former United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas. He was previously a United States Magistrate Judge of the same court.
Charles Bernard Day is a former United States magistrate judge and former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. His nomination to a life-tenure,federal district court judgeship during 2010 and 2011 ran aground amid opposition from Republican senators,who objected to moving forward with a United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on his nomination after what were reported to be "insurmountable concerns" by Republicans over matters raised during Day's background investigation.
John Andrew Ross is an American lawyer who serves as a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Robert Nichols Scola Jr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Margo Kitsy Brodie is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She became chief judge of the court on February 1,2021.
Jennifer Guerin Zipps is an American lawyer and judge serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Zipps formerly served as a United States magistrate judge of the same court from 2005 to 2011.
Rosemary Márquez is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.
Brian Curtis Wimes is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Despite his dual appointment,Wimes maintains chambers only in the Western District of Missouri.
Michael J. McShane is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. He previously served as a state court judge on the Oregon Multnomah County Circuit Court from 2001 to 2013.
David Jason Hale is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky and former United States attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
Theodore David Chuang is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and former deputy general counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Richard Franklin Boulware II is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada and former assistant Federal Public Defender.
Darrin Phillip Gayles is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and former Florida Circuit Court judge.
Karen Anne Gren Scholer is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk ( 1977) is a United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump in 2017 and sworn in for the position in 2019. In 2023,he presided over a lawsuit regarding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s approval of abortion medication mifepristone in 2000,and had issued a preliminary ruling suspending the approval of the drug,marking the first time a court tried to invalidate the approval of a drug over the FDA's objection.
Donald Trump,President of the United States from 2017 to 2021,entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies,including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency,he nominated approximately 50 judges,a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. By June 24,2020,200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. According to multiple media outlets,Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure.