Jinsook Ohta (née Jin Sook Lee, born 1976) is an American attorney and

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

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 ...

. She previously served as a judge on 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 ...

Education

Ohta received her

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 years ...

, ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

, from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1998 and her

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

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

in 2001."President Biden Names Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees", White House, September 30, 2021

Career

Ohta served as a law clerk for Judge

Barry Ted Moskowitz Barry Ted Moskowitz (born August 17, 1950) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Education and career Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Moskowitz received a Bachelor ...

of the

from 2001 to 2002 and again from 2007 to 2008. From 2002 to 2003, she was an associate with O’Melveny & Myers in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

from and from 2003 to 2006, she was an associate with Sheppard Mullin 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. From 2006 to 2007, she was an assistant professor of law at the

Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) is a private law school in San Diego, California. It offers a Juris Doctor and three Master of Laws programs, including one that is exclusively online,"How to enroll in America's first LLM Program". http://l ...

. From 2011 to 2021, Ohta worked in the

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

section of the

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

's office, first as deputy attorney general from 2011 to 2019 and then as a supervising deputy attorney general from 2019 to 2020. On December 8, 2020, governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

appointed Ohta to be a judge of the

Federal judicial service

On September 30, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Ohta to serve as a

of the

. President Biden nominated Ohta to the seat vacated by Judge

, who assumed

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

on January 23, 2019. On November 3, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

. During her confirmation hearing, she was questioned by three Republican senators over a statement she had endorsed which referred to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding religious or moral exemptions to a contraception mandate as a "devastating blow to women's reproductive justice." On December 2, 2021, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On December 17, 2021, 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 ...

invoked cloture on her nomination by a 47–25 vote. Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 47–24 vote. She received her commission on December 27, 2021. Ohta is the first

Asian Pacific American Asian/Pacific American (APA) or Asian/Pacific Islander (API) or Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) or Asian American and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) is a term sometimes used in the United States when including both Asian a ...

female judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohta, Jinsook 1976 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges California lawyers California state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California New York University School of Law alumni People associated with O'Melveny & Myers People from Seoul Superior court judges in the United States Thomas Jefferson School of Law people United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden Yale University alumni

Education

Career

Federal judicial service

See also

References

External links