James Edward Simmons Jr. (born 1979) is an American lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. He served as a judge of the

San Diego County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, is the branch of the California superior court with jurisdiction over San Diego County. History San Diego County was one of the original counties formed when California gained statehood in ...

from 2017 to 2023.

Early life and education

Simmons was raised in Los Angeles. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001 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 the

Golden Gate University School of Law Golden Gate University School of Law (informally referred to as GGU School of Law, GGU Law and Golden Gate Law) is one of the professional graduate schools of Golden Gate University. Located in downtown San Francisco, California, GGU is a Califor ...

in 2004.

Career

In 2005, Simmons was a deputy city attorney in the San Diego City Attorney's Office. From 2006 to 2017, he was a deputy district attorney in the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. During his tenure, he worked in the juvenile division, the superior court division and the gangs division. He has volunteered for Project LEAD.

State judicial service

On November 2, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Simmons as a judge of the

to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge David M. Szumowski. He left the state bench in March 2023 when he was elevated to the federal bench.

Federal judicial service

On July 14, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Simmons to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein support his nomination. President Biden nominated Simmons to the seat vacated by Judge Anthony J. Battaglia, who assumed senior status on March 31, 2021. On November 30, 2022, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On January 3, 2023, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. He was renominated on January 23, 2023. On February 9, 2023, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–8 vote. On March 1, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–45 vote. On March 9, 2023, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–43 vote. He received his judicial commission on March 10, 2023.

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