Irma Elsa Gonzalez (born March 29, 1948) is a retired

United States district judge 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 cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.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 appe ...

, who was the first Mexican-American female federal judge.http://womenslegalhistory.stanford.edu/papers/GonzalesI-Chavez97.pdf She is married to former federal prosecutor and trial attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. who served as the U.S. attorney for Southern California from 2019 to 2021. She was an assistant United States attorney of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of Arizona from 1975 to 1979. She was a trial attorney of the Antitrust Division of U.S. Department of Justice in Los Angeles in 1979. She was an assistant United States attorney of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California from 1979 to 1981. She was in private practice of law in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

from 1981 to 1984. She was a judge on the San Diego County Superior Court from 1991 to 1992. Gonzalez was a United States district judge of the

. Gonzalez was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on April 9, 1992, to a seat vacated by Judge J. Lawrence Irving. 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 August 11, 1992, and received commission on August 12, 1992. Served as chief judge from 2005–2012.

Education and early career

Born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, Gonzalez completed 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 at Stanford University in 1970, and a Juris Doctor at the

University of Arizona College of Law University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law is the law school at the University of Arizona located in Tucson, Arizona and was the first law school founded in the State of Arizona, opening its doors in 1915. Also known as University of Ar ...

(now known as the James E. Rogers College of Law) in 1973. She clerked for Judge William C. Frey of the

United States District Court for the District of Arizona The United States District Court for the District of Arizona (in case citations, D. Ariz.) is the U.S. district court that covers the state of Arizona. It is under the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The District was est ...

from 1973 to 1975. Gonzalez worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Attorney for Arizona from 1975 to 1979, and then for the

Central District of California The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a Federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, m ...

from 1979 to 1981. She was in private practice in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

from 1981 to 1984.

Judicial service

Gonzalez served as 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

in 1984.

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

appointed Gonzalez as a state judge on the

Superior Court in 1991. On April 9, 1992,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

George H. W. Bush nominated Gonzales to be a

of the

, to fill the seat vacated by Judge J. Lawrence Irving. The Senate confirmed her nomination on August 11, 1992 and she received her commission on August 12, 1992. She served as the

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the Southern District from 2005 to 2012. Gonzalez 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 ...

on March 29, 2013, and retired on October 25, 2013. On August 23, 2010 Gonzalez sided with Trump University in Makaeff vs. Trump University by allowing the countersuit by Trump University for defamation against Makaeff. Gonzalez's decision was unanimously overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal on April 17, 2013.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Irma Elsa 1948 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American judges American judges of Mexican descent American lawyers of Mexican descent Assistant United States Attorneys Hispanic and Latino American judges James E. Rogers College of Law alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Stanford University alumni Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush United States magistrate judges 21st-century American women judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers

Education and early career

Judicial service

See also

References

Sources