Bernice B. Donald
Bernice B. Donald | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | |
| Assumed office September 8, 2011 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Ronald Lee Gilman |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee | |
| In office December 26, 1995 – September 8, 2011 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Odell Horton |
| Succeeded by | John Thomas Fowlkes, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 17, 1951 DeSoto County, Mississippi |
| Education | Memphis State University (B.A.) Memphis State University School of Law (J.D.) |
Bernice Bouie Donald (born September 17, 1951) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Senate confirmed her in a 96–2 vote on September 6, 2011. She received her commission on September 8, 2011.[1] She previously served for 15 years as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Before that, she was a bankruptcy judge for nearly eight years, and a Tennessee state court judge handling criminal cases for six years.
Early life and education
Born in DeSoto County, Mississippi, Donald received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Memphis State University in 1974 and a Juris Doctor from Memphis State University School of Law in 1979. She was in private practice in Memphis, Tennessee from 1979 to 1980, then became a staff attorney of the Employment Law & Economic Development Unit, Memphis Area Legal Services, Tennessee in 1980. Donald was an assistant public defender, Shelby County Public Defender's Office, Tennessee from 1980-82.
Judicial service
Donald was a judge on Tennessee's General Sessions Criminal Court from 1982 to 1988, also teaching as an adjunct professor at Southwest Tennessee Community College from 1984 to 1989. Donald became a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority Alpha Eta Zeta chapter (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1983. From 1988-95, she was a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Western District of Tennessee.
On December 7, 1995, Donald was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee vacated by Odell Horton. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 1995, and received her commission on December 26, 1995.
On December 1, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Donald for a judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit[2] to replace Judge Ronald Lee Gilman who took senior status on November 21, 2010. The full Senate confirmed Donald to the Sixth Circuit on September 6, 2011 in a 96–2 vote. She received her commission on September 8, 2011.[1]
Notes
References
- Bernice Bouie Donald at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Bernice Donald at Ballotpedia
- 1951 births
- 21st-century American judges
- African-American judges
- American judges
- American women judges
- Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
- Living people
- People from DeSoto County, Mississippi
- Public defenders
- Tennessee state court judges
- United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama
- United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
- University of Memphis faculty
- University of Memphis alumni
- Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts