James Donald Peterson (born August 18, 1957) is an American lawyer who serves as the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Biography

Peterson was born on August 18, 1957. He received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in 1979,

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1984 and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in 1986 from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. After graduation, he was a faculty member at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, where he taught film and television history. He received his

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 ...

in 1998 from the University of Wisconsin Law School, graduating

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

. He served 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 Judge David G. Deininger of the

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

from 1998 to 1999. From 1999 to 2014, he had been a shareholder at the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

law firm of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., where he was a member of the litigation and intellectual property practice groups and led the firm's intellectual property litigation working group. Additionally, he served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he taught copyright law.

Federal judicial service

On November 7, 2013, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

nominated Peterson to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, to the seat vacated by Judge

John C. Shabaz John C. Shabaz (June 25, 1931August 31, 2012) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He served 30 years as a United States district judge for the Western District of Wisconsin, and was Chief Judge between 1996 and 2001. Earlier in his car ...

, 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 January 20, 2009. On February 6, 2014, his nomination was reported out of committee by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

, with 2 senators recorded as “no”. Cloture was filed on his nomination on May 6, 2014. On May 8, 2014, 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 his nomination by a 56–40 vote. Later the day, his nomination was confirmed by a 70–24 vote. He received his judicial commission on May 12, 2014. He became Chief Judge on April 26, 2017.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, James D. 1957 births Living people 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin People from Lake Charles, Louisiana United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama University of Notre Dame faculty University of Wisconsin Law School alumni University of Wisconsin Law School faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Wisconsin lawyers