Benjamin Cheeks

Southern District of California
	Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 13
	Judges: 12
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: Dana Sabraw
	Active judges: Cynthia A. Bashant, Cathy Bencivengo, Benjamin Cheeks, Robert Huie, Linda Lopez, Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, Jinsook Ohta, Todd Robinson, Dana Sabraw, Janis Sammartino, Andrew G. Schopler, James Simmons; Senior judges:; Michael Anello, Anthony J. Battaglia, Roger Benitez, Gonzalo P. Curiel, William Hayes, John Houston, Marilyn Huff, James Lorenz, Jeffrey Miller, Barry Moskowitz, Thomas Whelan

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Benjamin Cheeks
	Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Progress
	Confirmed 32 days after nomination.
	Nominated: November 18, 2024
	ABA Rating: Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: November 20, 2024
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: December 12, 2024
	Confirmed: December 20, 2024
	Vote: 49-47

Benjamin Cheeks is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on November 18, 2024, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 2024, by a vote of 49-47.^[1]^[2]^[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Southern 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, Cheeks was a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.^[3]^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Southern District of California (2025-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On November 18, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Cheeks to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.^[3] Cheeks received commission on January 9, 2025.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Cheeks by a vote of 49-47 on December 20, 2024.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Cheeks confirmation vote (December 20, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	1
Republican	0	47	2
Independent	3	0	1
Total	49^[5]	47	4

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Cheeks' nomination on November 20, 2024. Cheeks was reported to the full Senate on December 12, 2024, after an 11-10 committee vote.^[6] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On October 23, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Benjamin Cheeks to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.^[3] The president officially nominated Cheeks on November 18, 2024.^[4]

Cheeks was nominated to replace Judge Gonzalo Curiel, assumed senior status on September 7, 2023.^[7]

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

Biography

Early life and education

Cheeks was born in 1977 in Albany, GA. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami in 2000 and a law degree from American University, Washington College of Law in 2003.^[2]

Career

2025-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of California
2024-2025: Magistrate judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of California
2013-2024: Private practice, San Diego, California
2014-2022: Adjunct professor, California Western School of Law
2012-2013: Adjunct professor, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
2010-2013: Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of California
2003-2010: Assistant district attorney, New York City^[2]

About the Southern District of California

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of three courthouses in San Diego and one in El Centro. 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 at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse.

The Southern 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 Southern District of California consists of the Imperial and San Diego counties in the southern part of the state of California.

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.