Stanley Allen Bastian (born April 3, 1958) is an American attorney and jurist serving as
chief United States district judge of the
.
Early life and education
Bastian was born in
Seattle, Washington in 1958. He received a
Bachelor of Science degree in 1980 from the
University of Oregon and 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 ...
from the
University of Washington School of Law in 1983.
Career
After graduating from law school, he worked as an associate at the law firm of Bergman & Bauer from 1983 to 1984. 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 ...
to Judge Ward Williams of the
Washington State Court of Appeals
The Washington Court of Appeals is the intermediate level appellate court for the U.S. state, state of Washington (state), Washington. The court is divided into three divisions. Division I is based in Seattle, Division II is based in Tacoma, Wash ...
from 1984 to 1985 and as an Assistant City Attorney in Seattle, from 1985 to 1988. In 1988, he joined the law firm of Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward, P.S. in
Wenatchee, Washington, where he primarily handled civil employment cases. From 2012 to 2014, he was the managing partner of the law firm. He also served as the president of the
Washington State Bar Association
The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers and other legal professionals. In furtherance of its obligation to ...
in 2007. Bastian was selected as a fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers in 2007, and chaired the Equal Justice Coalition from 2010 to 2013. Over the course of his career Bastian tried hundreds of cases before juries and judges.
Federal judicial service
On September 19, 2013, President
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 Bastian to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, to the seat vacated by Judge
Edward F. Shea
Edward Francis Shea (born June 6, 1942) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Education and career
Born in Malden, Massachusetts, Shea received a Bachelor of Scien ...
, who assumed
senior status on June 7, 2012. The American Bar Association's committee on federal judicial recommendations unanimously rated Bastian as well-qualified for the position. On January 16, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee. On April 11, 2014 Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid filed a motion to invoke
cloture on the nomination. On April 29, 2014 a vote on the motion to invoke
cloture on the nomination was agreed to by a vote of 55–41. On April 30, 2014 the nomination was confirmed by a final vote of 95–0. He received his judicial commission on May 1, 2014.
He became chief judge on July 27, 2020.
On September 17, 2020, Bastian issued a nationwide
preliminary injunction
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...
against the
United States Postal Service to reverse changes that had occurred in early July that had slowed down mail delivery and removed sorting machines. Bastian called it a "politically-motivated attack on the efficiency of the postal service".
[''State of Washington, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al.'', no. 20-3127 (E.D. Wash. September 17, 2020)]
order
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastian, Stanley
1958 births
Living people
21st-century American judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Lawyers from Seattle
People from Wenatchee, Washington
Public defenders
United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama
University of Oregon alumni
University of Washington School of Law alumni
Washington (state) lawyers