Maria Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (born February 1, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a U.S. district judge of the

District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the United States federal courts, federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: ...

. She was previously a California state court judge on the Alameda County Superior Court from 2008 to 2011.

Early life and education

Rogers was born Maria Yvonne Gonzalez in 1965 in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. She graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1987 with 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 years ...

, ''

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 Sou ...

''. From 1987 to 1988, she worked as a legal researcher at a law firm in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. She then attended the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

, graduating in 1991 with 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 ...

Professional career

From 1991 until 2003, Rogers worked as a litigator in private practice in

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 ...

at the law firm of Cooley Godward LLP (now

Cooley LLP Cooley LLP is an American international law firm, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices worldwide. The firm's practice areas include corporate, litigation, intellectual property, fund formation, public markets, employment, life ...

). She was an equity partner at the firm from 1999 until 2001. Rogers was a member of the civil grand jury in

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Al ...

from 2005 until 2007, and served as foreperson from 2006 until 2007.

State court judicial service

Rogers served as a

pro tem ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

judge in

from 2007 until 2008. In 2008,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

appointed Rogers, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, to the Alameda County Superior Court. She replaced Judge Carlos G. Ynostroza on the bench.

Federal judicial service

On May 4, 2011, President Obama nominated Rogers to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California that had been vacated by Judge

Vaughn Walker Vaughn Richard Walker (born 1944) is an American lawyer who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 1989 to 2011. Walker presided over the original trial in '' Hol ...

, who had retired at the end of 2010. The Senate confirmed her by an 89–6 vote on November 15, 2011. She received her commission on November 21, 2011. She is the first

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 ...

to serve as a federal judge in the Northern District of California. Rogers has adjudicated various cases against Apple. In 2012, Rogers dismissed a class action lawsuit

with prejudice Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings. ...

, upholding Apple's defense that the "''Illinois Brick'' doctrine" from the Supreme Court case applied, as only the developers of apps could be damaged by Apple's policies, and consumers did not have statutory standing to bring suit on the developers' behalf. The Court specifically noted that the 30% fee Apple collects is "a cost passed-on to consumers by independent software developers". The

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

reversed her decision, and the Court of Appeals was upheld by the Supreme Court in '' Apple Inc. v. Pepper''. In December 2014, Rogers presided over a jury trial against Apple, in which plaintiffs claimed DRM on Apple iTunes violated antitrust laws. On December 16, 2014, the jury reached a verdict in favor of Apple. Rogers presided over the '' Epic Games v. Apple'' case. On August 24, 2020, Rogers issued an order granting a temporary restraining order for Epic's

Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of g ...

, finding that the termination of Epic's developer account could result in the inability to "save all the projects by third-party developers relying on the engine that were shelved while support was unavailable." However, Rogers refused to grant a temporary restraining order with respect to Epic's apps, including

Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: ''Fortnite Battle Royale'', a free-to- ...

, citing that Epic's current predicament "appears of its own making."

Notable activities

Rogers was elected to the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

in 1990 and was elected to the ALI Council in 2009. She currently chairs the ALI's Membership Committee and serves as an Adviser on ALI's Principles of Election Law: Resolution of Election Disputes project.

Personal life

Rogers' husband, Matthew C. Rogers, has served in various positions in the Obama administration. The couple live in

Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it me ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Yvonne Gonzalez 1965 births Living people 21st-century American judges California state court judges Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Princeton University alumni United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama University of Texas School of Law alumni 21st-century American women judges