Cristina Silva

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Cristina Silva
	Court: United States District Court for the District of Nevada
Progress
	Confirmed 140 days after nomination.
	Nominated: November 3, 2021
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: December 15, 2021
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: January 20, 2022
	Confirmed: March 23, 2022
	Vote: 50-46

Cristina Silva is judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. She was nominated by President Joe Biden (D) on November 3, 2021, and confirmed by a 50-46 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 23, 2022.^[1]^[2]^[3] Silva was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of Nevada is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Silva was a judge for Department 9 of the Nevada 8th Judicial District Court from 2019 to 2022.

Judicial nominations, appointments, and elections

United States District Court for the District of Nevada (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On November 3, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Silva to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. She was confirmed by a 50-46 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 23, 2022, and received commission on April 7.^[2]^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Silva by a vote of 50-46 on March 23, 2022.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Silva confirmation vote (March 23, 2022)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	45	0	3
Republican	4	46	0
Independent	1	0	1
Total	50	46	4

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Silva's nomination on December 15, 2021. The committee voted to advance Silva's nomination to the full Senate on January 20, 2022.

Nomination

On November 3, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Silva to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.^[2]

Silva's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2022.^[5] The president renominated Silva on the same day.^[3]

Silva was nominated to replace Judge Jame Mahan, who assumed senior status on June 29, 2018.^[6]

The American Bar Association rated Silva Well Qualified.^[7] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Nevada's 8th Judicial District (2019-2022)

2020 Election

General election

General election for Nevada 8th Judicial District Court Department 9

Incumbent Cristina Silva won election in the general election for Nevada 8th Judicial District Court Department 9 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cristina Silva (Nonpartisan)	100.0	665,961

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 665,961
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Cristina Silva advanced from the primary for Nevada 8th Judicial District Court Department 9.

Biography

Education

Silva earned her B.A. from Wellesley College in 2001 and her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law in 2007.^[1]

Career

2019-2022: Judge, Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court
2018-2019: Chief of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada
2011-2018: Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada
2007-2010: Assistant State Attorney, Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office^[1]

About the court

The District of Nevada has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The jurisdiction of the District of Nevada consists of all the counties in the state of Nevada.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 The White House, "President Biden Names Ninth Round of Judicial Nominees," November 3, 2021
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Congress.gov, "PN1357 — Cristina D. Silva — The Judiciary," accessed November 4, 2021
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Congress.gov, "PN1507 — Cristina D. Silva — The Judiciary," accessed January 5, 2022
↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Silva, Cristina Dionne," accessed April 8, 2022
↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days.
↑ The White House, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," November 3, 2021
↑ American Bar Association, "RATINGS OF ARTICLE III AND ARTICLE IV JUDICIAL NOMINEES 117TH CONGRESS," Last Updated: December 14, 2021

Political offices
Preceded by Stephen Breyer	Supreme Court of the United States 2022-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Merrick Garland	United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 2021-2022	Succeeded by Florence Pan
Preceded by Henry Kennedy	United States District Court for the District of Columbia 2013-2021	Succeeded by Florence Pan