Ana Isabel de Alba (born 1979) is an American attorney who serves as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. She previously served as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeal ...

from 2022 to 2023.

Early life and education

de Alba was born in

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

. She graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 2002 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree with highest honors. She then attended the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

, graduating in 2007 with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

Career

de Alba worked with the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

Immigrants' Rights Project in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, in 2007. From 2007 to 2013, de Alba was an associate at Lang Richet & Patch in

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. In 2013, she was promoted to

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

, where her practice focused on

torts A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

employment law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

, and

construction law Construction law is a branch of law that deals with matters relating to building construction, engineering, and related fields. It is in essence an amalgam of contract law, commercial law, planning law, employment law and tort. Construction law c ...

. In October 2018, Governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

appointed her as a judge of the Fresno County Superior Court to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Judge Dale Ikeda.

Federal judicial service

District court service

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated de Alba to serve as a

for the

Eastern District of California The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the ...

. President Biden nominated her to the seat vacated by Judge

Morrison C. England Jr. Morrison Cohen England Jr. (born December 17, 1954) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Early life and education Born in St. Louis, Missouri, England received a Bac ...

, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on December 17, 2019. On April 27, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the committee. On May 26, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–10 vote. On June 13, 2022, Majority Leader

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

filed

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...

on her nomination. On June 16, 2022, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–43 vote. On June 21, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 53–45 vote. She received her judicial commission on July 7, 2022, and was sworn in on July 8, 2022. Her service was terminated on November 16, 2023, due to her elevation to the court of appeals.

Court of appeals

On April 14, 2023, President Biden announced his intent to nominate de Alba to serve as

for the

Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. On April 17, 2023, her nomination was sent to the Senate. Biden nominated de Alba to the seat being vacated by Judge Paul J. Watford, who subsequently resigned on May 31, 2023. On May 17, 2023, a hearing on her nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

. During her confirmation hearing, Republican senators criticized her over her sentencing record during her tenure as a district court judge, as well as pointing out her lack of knowledge of basic

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

, specifically with regards to the

Dormant Commerce Clause The Dormant Commerce Clause, or Negative Commerce Clause, in American constitutional law, is a legal doctrine that courts in the United States have inferred from the Commerce Clause in Article I of the US Constitution. The primary focus of the d ...

. She was questioned over her sentencing of a man convicted of possession of

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

. de Alba sentenced the man to 66-months in jail, which fell below the federal sentencing guideline of 78 to 97 months. In 2021, de Alba released from home monitoring an illegal immigrant tied to the killing of a police officer. On June 8, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by a party-line 11–10 vote. On November 9, 2023, the

invoked cloture on her nomination by a 49–42 vote, with Senator

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor of ...

voting against the motion to invoke cloture on her nomination. On November 13, 2023, her nomination was confirmed by a 48–43 vote, with Senator Manchin voting against confirmation. She received her judicial commission on November 15, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:de Alba, Ana Isabel 1979 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers California Democrats Lawyers from Fresno, California California state court judges Hispanic and Latino American judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California People from Fresno County, California People from Merced, California Superior court judges in the United States UC Berkeley School of Law alumni United States court of appeals judges appointed by Joe Biden United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden University of California, Berkeley alumni