Morrison Cohen England Jr. (born December 17, 1954) is a senior

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.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 appeal ...

Early life and education

Born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, England received 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 from the University of the Pacific in 1977 and a Juris Doctor from

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on t ...

in 1983. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Reserve from 1988 to 2002.

Career

In 1973 he was an electronic data processing clerk for the

California Department of Motor Vehicles The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the state agency that registers motor vehicles and boats and issues driver licenses in the U.S. state of California. It regulates new car dealers (through the New Motor Vehicle Board), c ...

. In 1976 he was a free agent with the New York Jets. From 1976 to 1982 he was an assistant football coach at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

and

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

. From 1978 to 1980 he was an assistant resident manager and law clerk at FPI Management Inc in Sacramento. From 1980 to 1981 he was an on-call counselor with the Sacramento County Juvenile Court. From 1981 to 1983 he was a law clerk at the law firm of Quattrin & Clemons. England was in private practice in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1983 to 1988. From 1988 to 2002, he served with the United States Army Reserve, JAG Corps. From 1988 to 1996, he was a partner with the law firm of Quattrin, Johnson, Campora & England. Between 1996 and 1997, England was a judge on the Municipal Court of California in the County of Sacramento. He served as a judge on the Sacramento Superior Court for the State of California between 1996 and 2002.

District court service

England is a United States District Judge of the

. England was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on March 21, 2002, to a seat vacated by Lawrence K. Karlton. 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 August 1, 2002, and received his commission on August 2, 2002. He served as Chief Judge from May 1, 2012, to April 30, 2016. He assumed

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

on December 17, 2019, his 65th birthday.

Notable ruling

On September 19, 2019, England issued a preliminary injunction against a California law which would require candidates for president to disclose their tax returns in order to be listed on the ballot.

Awards and recognition

2013: Martin Luther King Jr. Peace and Justice Award from the University of the Pacific.

References

Sources

*
107-2 Hearings: Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments, S. Hrg. 107-584, Part 4, May 9, May 23, June 13, June 27, and July 23, 2002, *
{{DEFAULTSORT:England, Morrison C. Jr. 1954 births Living people African-American judges California state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California McGeorge School of Law alumni Lawyers from St. Louis Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush 21st-century American judges University of the Pacific (United States) alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges United States Army reservists 20th-century African-American lawyers