Delwen Lowell Jensen (born June 3, 1928) is an American jurist and former
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
.
Education and career
Born in
Brigham City,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, Jensen received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree from 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 ...
in 1949 and a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
from the
UC Berkeley School of Law
The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...
in 1952. He was in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
Corporal from 1952 to 1954. He was in private practice in
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, California, from 1954 to 1955.
Jensen was a deputy district attorney of
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...
, California, from 1955 to 1966. He was an assistant district attorney of Alameda County from 1966 to 1969. He was the District Attorney of Alameda County from 1969 to 1981. As district attorney Jensen oversaw prosecutions involving members of the Black Panthers and also the
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found a ...
prosecution.
[East Bay Times article on Jensen](_blank)
/ref>
He was an Assistant United States Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
from 1981 to 1983. He was the United States Associate Attorney General
The associate attorney general of the United States is the third-highest-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice. The associate attorney general advises and assists the attorney general and the deputy attorney general in policies re ...
from 1983 to 1985, and the United States Deputy Attorney General
The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department. The deputy attorney general acts as United States Attorney Gener ...
from 1985 to 1986.
Federal judicial service
Jensen was a federal judge on the . Jensen was nominated by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
on June 2, 1986, to a seat on the vacated by Judge William Horsley Orrick Jr.
William Horsley Orrick Jr. (October 10, 1915 – August 14, 2003) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Education and career
Orrick was born on October 10, 1915, in San Fr ...
He was confirmed by 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 ...
on June 24, 1986, and received his commission on June 25, 1986. He 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 June 27, 1997.
uscourts.gov; accessed June 8, 2017.
References
Sources
*
Civil Rights Greensboro: D. Lowell Jensen profile uncg.edu; accessed June 8, 2017.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, D. Lowell
1928 births
Living people
American prosecutors
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
People from Brigham City, Utah
United States Army soldiers
United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Criminal Division
United States Associate Attorneys General
United States Deputy Attorneys General
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
20th-century American judges
UC Berkeley School of Law alumni