Janis Lynn Sammartino (born April 24, 1950) is 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.

Early life and education

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Sammartino graduated from

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

with her

Artium Baccalaureus 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 ...

degree in 1972 and later from

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...

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 ...

in 1975.

Legal career

Following law school graduation, Sammartino worked 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 St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Douglas Seely from 1975 to 1976. She was a deputy city attorney of

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 ...

City Attorney's Office,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

from 1976 to 1994. Sammartino was a judge on the

Municipal Court City court or municipal court is a court of law with jurisdiction limited to a city or other municipality. It typically addresses "violations of city ordinances and may also have jurisdiction over minor criminal cases...and over certain civil cases ...

from 1994 to 1995. She was a judge on the

San Diego County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, is the branch of the California superior court with jurisdiction over San Diego County. History San Diego County was one of the original counties formed when California gained statehood in ...

from 1995 to 2007.

Judicial career

Sammartino was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California 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 19, 2007 to a seat vacated by the death of

Judith Keep Judith Nelsen Keep (March 24, 1944 – September 14, 2004) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Education and career Born on March 24, 1944, in Omaha, Nebraska, Keep rec ...

. Sammartino was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on September 10, 2007 on a Senate vote and received commission on September 21, 2007. On May 17, 2017, U.S. District Judge Sammartino sentenced Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau, the first active duty admiral ever convicted of a felony, to 18 months in prison for his involvement in the

Fat Leonard scandal The Fat Leonard scandal is an ongoing investigation and prosecution of corruption within the United States Navy during the 2000s and 2010s. It has involved ship support contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a Thai subsidiary of the Glenn Ma ...

, although Gilbeau will still be allowed to continue collecting his nearly $10,000 monthly pension.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sammartino, Janis Lynn 1950 births California state court judges Living people Occidental College alumni Notre Dame Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush 21st-century American judges Superior court judges in the United States Lawyers from Philadelphia 21st-century American women judges