Bernice Bouie Donald (born September 17, 1951) is an American lawyer and former judge who served 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. Cou ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* Eastern District of Kentucky
* Western District of ...
from 2011 to 2023. She previously served as a United States district judge of the
from 1995 to 2011.
Biography
Donald was born in
DeSoto County, Mississippi
DeSoto County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 161,252, making it the third-most populous county in Mississippi. Its county seat is Hernando.
DeSoto Cou ...
. She received 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 from
University of Memphis
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The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students.
The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...
in 1974 and 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 ...
from
University of Memphis School of Law
The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school and is the only law school in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis since the law school's ...
in 1979. She was in private practice in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
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
A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
for the Shelby County Public Defender's Office, Tennessee from 1980 to 1982. From 1985 to 1988, she was an
adjunct professor
An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and
the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
at
Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
Judicial career
State judicial service
Donald was a judge on Tennessee's General Sessions Criminal Court from 1982 to 1988, also teaching as an
adjunct professor
An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and
the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
at
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Southwest Tennessee Community College is a public community college in Memphis, Tennessee. As the product of a merger between two colleges in 2000, the school has two campuses in Memphis and several satellite centers. It is operated by the Ten ...
from 1984 to 1989. Donald became a member of
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achie ...
sorority Alpha Eta Zeta chapter (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1983. From 1988 to 1995, she was a United States bankruptcy judge in the Western District of Tennessee.
Federal judicial service
District court service
On December 7, 1995, Donald was nominated by President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
to a seat on the
vacated by
Odell Horton
Odell Horton (May 13, 1929 – February 22, 2006) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Education and career
Born in Bolivar, Tennessee, Horton served in the United State ...
. She was confirmed by 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 ...
on December 22, 1995, and received her commission on December 26, 1995.
Her service as a district court judge was terminated on September 8, 2011 when she was elevated to the court of appeals.
Court of appeals service
On December 1, 2010, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
nominated Donald for a judgeship on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* Eastern District of Kentucky
* Western District of ...
to replace Judge
Ronald Lee Gilman
Ronald Lee Gilman (born October 16, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Education and career
Gilman attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...
who assumed senior status on November 21, 2010.
[President Obama Nominates Judge Bernice Bouie Donald for United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]
''whitehouse.gov
whitehouse.gov (also simply known as wh.gov) is the official website of the White House and is managed by the Office of Digital Strategy. It was launched on July 29, 1994 by the Clinton administration.
The content of the website is in the ...
'' (December 1, 2010). The Senate confirmed Donald on September 6, 2011 by a 96–2 vote.
On the Nomination (Confirmation Bernice Bouie Donald, of Tennessee, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit)
''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 ...
'' September 6, 2011. She received her commission on September 8, 2011. On September 8, 2022, her successor, Andre Mathis
Andre Bernard Mathis (born 1980) is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Education
Mathis earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Memphis in 2 ...
, was confirmed by the Senate. Donald 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 September 27, 2022, and retired from active service on January 20, 2023.
See also
*List of African-American federal judges
This is a list of African Americans who have served as United States federal judges. , 260 African-Americans have served on the federal bench.
United States Supreme Court
United States Courts of Appeals
United States District Courts ...
*List of African-American jurists
This list includes individuals self-identified as African Americans who have made prominent contributions to the field of law in the United States, especially as eminent judges or legal scholars. Individuals who may have obtained law degrees or ...
*List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
This list of the first women lawyers and judges in each state of the United States includes the years in which the women were admitted to practice law. Also included are women of other distinctions, such as the first in their states to get law de ...
*List of first women lawyers and judges in Tennessee
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Tennessee. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their ...
Notes
References
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Bernice B.
1951 births
Living people
20th-century American judges
20th-century American women judges
21st-century American judges
21st-century American women judges
African-American judges
Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts
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
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