Holly Thomas

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Holly Thomas
Image of Holly Thomas

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Tenure

2022 - Present

Years in position

2

Prior offices
Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Successor: Pamela Dansby

Education

Bachelor's

Stanford University

Law

Yale Law School

Holly Thomas is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on September 20, 2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 20, 2022, by a vote of 48-40.[1][2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, click here.

Biography

Education

Thomas obtained a B.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.[3]

Career

Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections

Possible Joe Biden nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court

On January 27, 2022, United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer officially announced he would retire at the start of the court's summer recess, which typically took place in late June or early July.[4][5] NBC News had previously reported the retirement on January 26.[6] On February 15, Biden announced he would nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson.[7]

President Joe Biden (D) did not announce a list of nominees he was considering. During the retirement announcement, Biden said that: "The person I will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court."[8]

Thomas was mentioned by two or more media outlets as a possible nominee to fill Breyer's seat on the court.[9][10][11] Click here to read more about the vacancy and nomination process.

United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 20, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Thomas to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. She was confirmed by a 48-40 vote of the U.S. Senate on January 20, 2022.[1][2] Thomas received her judicial commission on January 24, 2022.[12] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Holly Thomas
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 122 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: September 20, 2021
ApprovedAABA Rating: Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: October 20, 2021
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: December 2, 2021[13] 
ApprovedAConfirmed: January 20, 2022
ApprovedAVote: 48-40


Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Thomas by a vote of 48-40 on January 20, 2022.[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Thomas confirmation vote (January 20, 2022)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 46 0 2
Ends.png Republican 0 40 10
Grey.png Independent 2 0 0
Total 48 40 12

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Thomas' nomination on October 20, 2021. On December 2, 2021, the committee cast a tie vote to report Thomas to the full United States Senate for a confirmation vote. As a result, Thomas was not reported favorably to the full Senate.[1][14][15]

On December 16, 2021, the U.S. Senate discharged Thomas' nomination from the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 50-46. Thomas' nomination was placed on the Senate Executive Calendar for a confirmation vote.[1]

Nomination

On September 8, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Thomas to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The president officially nominated Thomas on September 20.[1]

Thomas was nominated to replace Judge William A. Fletcher, who is scheduled to assume senior status upon the confirmation of his successor.[1][16]

The American Bar Association rated Thomas Qualified.[17] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2018-2022)

See also: Municipal elections in Los Angeles County, California (2020)

Incumbent Holly Thomas was the only candidate to file and won the position by default when the election was canceled.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Holly Thomas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

About the court

Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals
US-CourtOfAppeals-9thCircuit-Seal.svg
Judgeships
Posts: 29
Judges: 29
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Mary Murguia
Active judges: Bridget S. Bade, Mark J. Bennett, Daniel Bress, Patrick J. Bumatay, Consuelo Maria Callahan, Morgan Christen, Daniel P. Collins, Roopali Desai, Danielle Forrest, Michelle T. Friedland, Ronald Gould, Sandra Ikuta, Anthony Johnstone, Lucy H. Koh, Kenneth Kiyul Lee, Sal Mendoza Jr., Eric D. Miller, Mary Murguia, Ryan D. Nelson, Jacqueline Nguyen, John B. Owens, Johnnie Rawlinson, Gabriel Sanchez, Milan Smith, Jennifer Sung, Holly Thomas, Lawrence VanDyke, Kim McLane Wardlaw, Ana I. de Alba

Senior judges:
Carlos Bea, Marsha Berzon, Jay Bybee, William Canby, Richard Clifton, Ferdinand Francis Fernandez, William Fletcher, Susan Graber, Michael Hawkins, Andrew Hurwitz, Andrew Kleinfeld, Margaret McKeown, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, Richard Paez, Mary Schroeder, Barry Silverman, Randy Smith, Richard Tallman, A. Wallace Tashima, Sidney Thomas, Stephen Trott, John Clifford Wallace, Dorothy Wright Nelson


The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Ninth Circuit is the largest appellate court with 29 authorized judicial posts. Appeals are heard in the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse in San Francisco, California, the Richard H. Chambers Courthouse in Pasadena, California, the Pioneer Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, and the William K. Nakamura Courthouse in Seattle, Washington.

One judge of the Ninth Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Anthony Kennedy was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan (R).

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States District Court for the Northern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the District of OregonUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of WashingtonUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of WashingtonUnited States District Court for the Western District of WashingtonUnited States District Court for the Western District of WashingtonUnited States District Court for the District of IdahoUnited States District Court for the District of MontanaUnited States District Court for the District of NevadaUnited States District Court for the District of ArizonaUnited States District Court for the District of AlaskaUnited States District Court for the District of HawaiiUnited States District Court for the District of GuamUnited States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Map of the Ninth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.


The Ninth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Elena Kagan is the circuit justice for the Ninth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

It also has appellate jurisdiction over the following territorial courts:

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.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Congress.gov, "PN1169 — Holly A. Thomas — The Judiciary," accessed September 21, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The White House, "President Biden Names Seventh Round of Judicial Nominees," September 8, 2021
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., "Governor Brown Appoints 12 Superior Court Judges," November 29, 2018
  4. ↑ United States Supreme Court, "Letter to President," January 27, 2022
  5. ↑ YouTube, "President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer," January 27, 2022
  6. ↑ NBC News, "Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from Supreme Court, paving way for Biden appointment," January 26, 2022
  7. ↑ White House, "President Biden Nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Serve as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court," February 25, 2022
  8. ↑ YouTube, "President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer," January 27, 2022
  9. ↑ CBS News, "Biden weighing more than a dozen candidates for Supreme Court vacancy," January 31, 2022
  10. ↑ USA Today, "Biden considers Judge J. Michelle Childs and may cast wider net for Supreme Court vacancy," January 29, 2022
  11. ↑ The Associated Press via the Hartford Courant, "President Biden has long been preparing for a Supreme Court pick," January 26, 2022
  12. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Thomas, Holly Aiyisha," accessed January 24, 2022
  13. ↑ Thomas received a 11-11 tie committee vote and was not reported favorably to the full Senate. Click here for more details.
  14. ↑ Colorado Politics, " Senate committee deadlocks on Colorado judge nominee," December 2, 2021
  15. ↑ Bloomberg Law, "Senate Panel Deadlocks on Biden Ninth Circuit, Trial Court Picks," December 2, 2021
  16. ↑ United States Courts, "Future Judicial Vacancies," accessed September 21, 2021
  17. ↑ American Bar Association, "RATINGS OF ARTICLE III AND ARTICLE IV JUDICIAL NOMINEES," Last Updated: October 19, 2021
Political offices
Preceded by:
William Fletcher 		Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
2022 – Present 		Succeeded by:
NA




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