Claudia Ann Wilken (born August 1949) is a Senior

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...

Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Education and career

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Wilken 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 year ...

degree from Stanford University in 1971 and a Juris Doctor from the

University of California, 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 ...

(Boalt Hall) in 1975. She was a Staff attorney of Federal Public Defender's Office, Northern District of California from 1975 to 1978. She was in private practice in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1978 to 1984. She was an Adjunct professor, University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law from 1978 to 1984. She was a Professor, New College School of Law from 1980 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

Wilken 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 ...

on October 7, 1993, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089. 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 November 20, 1993, and received her commission on November 22, 1993. She served as chief judge from August 31, 2012 until December 17, 2014, at which time she assumed

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

. Wilken was formerly a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...

for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, from 1983 to 1993.

Notable cases

In 2014 Wilken ruled against the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

O'Bannon v. NCAA ''O'Bannon v. NCAA'', 802 F.3d 1049 (9th Cir. 2015) was an United States antitrust law, antitrust class action lawsuit filed against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The lawsuit, which former UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCL ...

, saying that the organization violated the

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. ...

by prohibiting universities from giving student-athletes a share of the revenues earned when their image and personal details were broadcast over television or through other contracts. For this, in 2014 she was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilken, Claudia Ann 1949 births Living people Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California New College of California faculty Lawyers from Minneapolis Stanford University alumni United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton United States magistrate judges UC Berkeley School of Law faculty UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Women legal scholars 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges Public defenders