Linda Lopez (born 1968) is an American attorney serving as a

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

magistrate judge The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

of the same court.

Early life and education

The child of Cuban immigrants, Lopez was born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and raised in the nearby suburb of

Hialeah Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Mi ...

. She earned an Associate of Arts in and Associate of Science degree from

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

, a Bachelor of Arts from

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

in 1996, 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

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school in ...

in 1999."President Biden Names Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees", White House, September 30, 2021

Career

Lopez began her career as a criminal defense attorney in Florida, working both at a firm and as a solo practitioner. In 2007, she relocated to

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 ...

, where she joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender as a senior trial attorney.

United States magistrate judge

Lopez was sworn in as a magistrate judge for the Southern District of California on October 26, 2018.

District court service

On September 30, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Lopez to be a United States district judge of the

. President Biden nominated Lopez to the seat vacated by Judge

Roger Benitez Roger Thomas Benitez (born December 30, 1950) is a senior United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He is known for his opinions striking down several California gun control laws. Early li ...

, 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 December 31, 2017. 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 ...

. 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 47–30 vote. Her nomination was confirmed later that day by a 48–25 vote. She received her judicial commission on December 21, 2021. At the time of her appointment, she was the only

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

on the Southern District of California. She was later joined by Judge

Ruth Bermudez Montenegro Ruth Bermudez Montenegro (née Ruth Parra Bermudez, born 1967) is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California since 2022. She served as a United ...

in 2022.

References

External links