Consuelo María Callahan (born June 9, 1950) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Background

Consuelo María Callahan was born June 9, 1950 in Palo Alto, California. She was raised in Fremont, California and attended public schools in Fremont and in Los Altos, California. In 1972, she graduated from

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with Bachelor of Arts degree, ''cum laude'', in English. She graduated from McGeorge School of Law at the

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, with a

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in 1975. In 2004, she received a Master of Laws from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

. Consuelo Callahan began her law career as the Deputy City Attorney for

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, California, and then became Deputy District Attorney in San Joaquin County, California. She focused her practice on child abuse and sexual assault cases. In 1986, she became a commissioner of the Stockton Municipal Court. In 1992, she became the first Hispanic woman to be appointed to the San Joaquin County

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. In 1996, Governor Pete Wilson appointed her to serve on the Third District California Court of Appeal in Sacramento.

Ninth Circuit nomination and confirmation

On February 12, 2003, Callahan was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Her Senate confirmation hearing was on May 7, 2003. On May 22, 2003, she was confirmed by a 99–0 vote. She received her judicial commission on May 28, 2003.

Possible Supreme Court nomination

On September 20, 2005, '' The New York Times'' named Callahan as a George W. Bush Supreme Court candidate for United States Supreme Court justice, to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. She was supported by some Democrats and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as being more moderate than many of Bush's other appointees. On October 9, 2005 '' Chicago Sun-Times'' columnist Robert Novak reported Callahan was one of two finalists for the O'Connor seat, the other being White House Counsel Harriet Miers, whom Bush nominated. On October 27, 2005, Miers withdrew her name from consideration and again, Callahan was mentioned as a possible nominee. Bush ultimately nominated

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...

to O'Connor's seat.

Awards and honors

On July 14, 2014, Judge Callahan was presented the Ninth Circuit Professionalism Award from the

American Inns of Court American Inns of Court (AIC) are designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students. Each Inn meets approx ...

. The award presentation occurred at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in

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and was presented by Dean

Deanell Reece Tacha Deanell Reece Tacha (born January 26, 1946) is a retired United States Circuit Judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She was the Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law from 2011 to 2016. Educati ...

of the Pepperdine University School of Law; Dean Tacha was a retired judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and current president of the

American Inns of Court Foundation American Inns of Court (AIC) are designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students. Each Inn meets approx ...

References

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