Araceli Martínez-Olguín (born 1977)
is a Mexican-American lawyer from
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
who serves as a
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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
of the
.
Education
Martínez-Olguín received a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
from the
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (''abbrev.'' SPIA; formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of co ...
in 1999 and a
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from the
UC Berkeley School of Law
The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...
in 2004.
Career
From 2004 to 2006, Martínez-Olguín served as a
law clerk
A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...
for Judge
David Briones
David Briones (born February 26, 1943) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in El Paso, Texas, Briones was in the United States Army from 1964 t ...
of the
. From 2016 to 2017, she was an attorney for the
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...
's
Office for Civil Rights
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Education that is primarily focused on enforcing civil rights laws prohibiting schools from engaging in discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex ...
. From 2017 to 2018, she served as the managing attorney at the Immigrants' Rights Project at
Community Legal Services in
East Palo Alto, California
East Palo Alto ( ; abbreviated E.P.A.) is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 30,034. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the c ...
.
From 2018 to 2023, she was the supervising attorney at the
National Immigration Law Center. She has also worked at the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
...
and at the
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center.
Martínez-Olguín was a member of the
American Constitution Society
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...
Lawyer Chapter's board of directors from 2015 to 2022.
Federal judicial service
On July 29, 2022, President
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
announced his intent to nominate Martínez-Olguín to serve as a
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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
of the
.
On August 1, 2022, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Martínez-Olguín to the seat vacated by Judge
Jeffrey White
Jeffrey Steven White (born September 2, 1945) is a Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Early life, education, and career
Bor ...
, who assumed
senior status on February 1, 2021. On September 21, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On December 1, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President under
Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
; she was renominated later the same day. On February 2, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 vote. On February 28, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 48–47 vote. Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 49–48 vote, with the Vice President
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
voting in the affirmative. She received her judicial commission on March 3, 2023. She is the second
Latina to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
See also
*
List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists
This is a list of Hispanic/Latino Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, or administrative law judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts.
Other topics of interest
* List ...
*
Joe Biden judicial appointment controversies
References
External links
*
1977 births
Living people
21st-century American lawyers
21st-century American women judges
21st-century American women lawyers
American Civil Liberties Union people
American judges of Mexican descent
American lawyers of Mexican descent
Hispanic and Latino American judges
Hispanic and Latino American lawyers
Hispanic and Latino American teachers
Immigration lawyers
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Mexican emigrants to the United States
Lawyers from Mexico City
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni
Schoolteachers from California
UC Berkeley School of Law alumni
United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden
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