Katherine Anne Feinstein (born Berman; July 31, 1957) is an American attorney, public official, and former judge who currently serves as President of the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Fire Commission. Feinstein previously served as Presiding Judge of the

San Francisco Superior Court The Superior Court of California of the County of San Francisco is the Superior Courts of California, state superior court with jurisdiction over the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco. History In 1976 the Court helped to create the ...

from 2010 to 2012 and as a Superior Court judge from 2000 to 2012.

Early life and education

Katherine Anne Feinstein is the only biological child of

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and her first husband Judge Jack K. Berman. After her mother's marriage to Bertram Feinstein in 1962 she took her stepfather's last name. She is a graduate of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

(1980) and

Hastings Law School The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...

(1984).

Career

After working as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, she served as a prosecutor and worked as a lawyer representing police officers accused of wrongdoing. She then took a job with the San Francisco city attorney's office where she represented children in abuse and custody cases. In 2000, California Governor

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

appointed her to the

. In 2012, she announced her retirement from the court, and Judge Cynthia Ming-mei Lee replaced her as presiding judge. During her career, Feinstein founded several initiatives including Squires, a " scared straight" program that matched juvenile delinquents with convicts serving life sentences at

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

; and a program that jailed drunks who skip their court dates unless they enter a treatment program. In 2016, she was named by

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 ...

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

to the

Medical Board of California The Medical Board of California (MBC) is a state government agency which licenses and disciplines physicians, surgeons and certain allied healthcare professionals in California. The Board provides two principal types of services to consumers: (1) ...

. In 2020,

San Francisco Mayor The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by ...

London Breed London Nicole Breed (born August 11, 1974) is an American politician who is the 45th and current mayor of the City and County of San Francisco. She was supervisor for District 5 and was president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Board ...

appointed Feinstein to the city's Fire Commission, which provides oversight of the

San Francisco Fire Department The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) provides firefighting, hazardous materials response services, technical rescue services and emergency medical response services to the City and County of San Francisco, California. History Volunteer Depa ...

. Feinstein currently serves as the commission's president.

Personal life

She is married to Rick Mariano; they have one daughter, Eileen Feinstein Mariano. Eileen Feinstein Mariano was chosen as an Electoral College member for the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feinstein, Katherine 1957 births 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American judges Living people 2016 United States presidential electors California state court judges Superior court judges in the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Hastings College of the Law alumni 21st-century American women judges