Kathy Jane Branstetter Stranch (born September 17, 1953) is 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. ...
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 ...
.
Early life and education
Born Kathy Jane Branstetter
in
Nashville,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, Stranch first attended the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
from 1971 to 1972 and then the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...
from 1972 to 1973 and earned no degree. In 1973, Stranch enrolled at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
earning 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,
summa cum laude, in 1975.
She then earned a
Juris Doctor from
Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...
in 1978,
[ where she was elected to the ]Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...
.[Jane Stranch '78 to take seat on U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]
, ''Vanderbilt University Law School News'' (September 13, 2010).
Professional career
Stranch started her professional career at the law firm of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, PLLC as a law clerk working summers and part-time 1975 through the summer of 1978.[ Following the bar exam, Stranch was promoted to an associate in 1978 and became a ]partner
Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to:
Books
* ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997
* ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928
* ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart
* ''Partner'' (m ...
in 1994.[ From 1981 through 1983 Stranch, taught a general introductory course in labor law at ]Belmont University
Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
.[President Obama Nominates Jane Stranch for United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Judge Thomas Vanaskie for United States Court of Appeals for the Third 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 ...
'' (August 7, 2009). Early in her career Stranch practiced law in both the state and federal courts with a focus in labor employment, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), personal injury, worker's compensation
Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
, wrongful death
Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, ...
, and utility law. During the latter part of the 1990s, Stranch's practice was mainly complex litigation and class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
work throughout the United States. Many of her cases involved representation of plan participants who had lost their individual account pensions due to fiduciary breaches, often concurrent with corporate scandals.[ Stranch litigated approximately 85% of her cases before the federal courts and 15% in state courts and other administrative agencies. The vast majority (95%) were in civil proceedings.]
Federal judicial service
On August 6, 2009, 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 ...
announced that he had nominated Stranch to a vacancy 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 the seat vacated by Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey, who assumed senior status on January 1, 2009. Stranch was one of several candidates whom NashvillePost.com
''NashvillePost.com'' is an online news service covering business, politics and sports in the Nashville metropolitan area. It is locally owned and available by subscription.
''NashvillePost.com'' competes with other daily news media in the Middl ...
had reported in April 2009 was being considered for the seat, along with United States District Judge William Joseph Haynes, Jr., United States District Judge Bernice B. Donald, Nashville criminal defense attorney David Raybin and Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...
Professor Lisa Schultz Bressman. In addition, in the February 8, 2009 Nashville ''Tennessean'', Stranch was interviewed by the newspaper about her interest in the vacancy, and she told ''The Tennessean'' that "I think there's value in a judge having a great deal of federal experience, but also one who's litigated. I would hope to bring to the bench a fair temperament but also an understanding of what it means to be a litigator in the courts."[ After a more than one-year wait, 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 ...
confirmed Stranch on September 13, 2010, by a 71–21 vote. She waited longer than any other Obama nominee to receive a confirmation vote by the Senate. She received her commission on September 15, 2010.
Notable opinions
In ''United States v. Edward L. Young'', the Sixth Circuit considered whether a mandatory 15-year sentence, as required under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) constituted cruel and unusual punishment for a convicted felon who possessed seven shotgun shells. Young's prior felony offenses, for burglary, had occurred roughly twenty years before he was found with the shells. On September 11, 2014, a three-judge panel, including Judge Stranch, upheld the sentence. But Judge Stranch wrote a concurrence to express her view on mandatory minimum sentencing: "I therefore join the continuous flood of voices expressing concern that the ACCA and other mandatory minimum laws are ineffective in achieving their purpose and damaging to our federal criminal justice system and our nation. I commend this case as another example of the need to reconsider the ACCA and mandatory sentencing in general."
On December 17, 2021, Stranch wrote the majority opinion in a 2–1 decision upholding a Biden administration requirement that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated from COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
, and corporations with over 100 employees be either vaccinated or tested weekly.
Personal
Stranch's husband, James G. Stranch III, is a Nashville attorney who is a partner in the law firm of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings. They have four children, two of whom also practice at the firm.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stranch, Jane Branstetter
1953 births
Living people
21st-century American judges
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Lawyers from Nashville, Tennessee
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama
Vanderbilt University alumni
21st-century American women judges