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Daniel Domenico
2019 - Present
6
Daniel Desmond Domenico is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. On October 2, 2017, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Domenico to a seat on this court.[1][2] The U.S. Senate confirmed Domenico on April 9, 2019, by a vote of 57-42.[3] He received commission on May 7, 2019.[4] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the District of Colorado 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.
Domenico was the managing partner of Kittredge LLC, a Colorado-based law firm, from 2015 to 2019.[5]
Judicial nominations and appointments
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (2017)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
Domenico was nominated to an Article III seat on the District of Colorado on October 2, 2017.[2] The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination by a 57-42 vote on April 9, 2019.[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Daniel Desmond Domenico |
| Court: United States District Court for the District of Colorado |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 554 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: October 2, 2017
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: January 24, 2018
|
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: February 15, 2018 (first)/February 7, 2019 (second)
|
| Confirmed: April 9, 2019
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| Vote: 57-42
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Domenico on April 9, 2019, on a vote of 57-42.[3] Home-state Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) of Colorado voted to confirm Domenico. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Daniel Domenico confirmation vote (April 9, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
4 | 40 | 1 | ||||||
 Republican |
53 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
 Independent |
0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 57 | 42 | 1 | ||||||
Change in Senate rules
Domenico was the second judge to be confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[6]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[7]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[8] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Domenico's nomination on January 24, 2018. The committee voted 11-10 on February 15, 2018, to advance Domenico's nomination to the full U.S. Senate.[9][10]
The committee favorably reported Domenico's nomination a second time on February 7, 2019, by a 12-10 vote. Domenico's nomination was one of 44 that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reported that day.[11]
Nomination
President Donald Trump (R) nominated Domenico to succeed Robert Blackburn, who assumed senior status on April 12, 2016. The U.S. Senate returned Domenico's nomination to the president on January 3, 2018.[2] The president renominated Domenico to replace Blackburn on January 8, 2018.[9]
At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Domenico's nomination to President Trump.[12] Domenico was one of 51 individuals the president re-nominated on January 23, 2019.[13]
The American Bar Association unanimously rated Domenico qualified for the position.[14] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Early life and education
Domenico was born in 1972 in Boulder, Colorado. He earned his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1995. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Order of the Coif, in 2000. During a period of his legal studies, Domenico served as the editor of the Virginia Law Review and as the executive editor of the Journal of Sports and Law.[15][5]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Judge, United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- 2015-2019: Managing partner, Kittredge LLC, Colorado
- 2006-2015: Solicitor general of Colorado
- 2005-2006: Special assistant to the solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior
- 2004: Counsel, John Thune (R-S.D.) for U.S. Senate campaign
- 2003-2004: Law clerk to the Hon. Timothy Tymkovich, United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
- 2000-2003: Associate, Hogan & Hartson LLP[5][16]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2014: Best brief, National Association of Attorneys General
- 2014: Distinguished practitioner in residence, Natural Resources Program, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
- 2011: Appellate Lawyer of the Week, National Law Journal[5]
Associations
- 2017-present: Tenth Circuit Historical Society
- 2000-present: The Federalist Society
- 2015, 2003-2007: American Bar Association
- 2015, 2003-2007: Colorado Bar Association
- 2006-2015: National Association of Attorneys General[5]
About the court
| District of Colorado |
|---|
| Tenth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 7 |
| Judges: 7 |
| Vacancies: 0 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Philip Brimmer |
| Active judges: Philip Brimmer, S. Kato Crews, Daniel Domenico, Gordon Gallagher, Regina Rodriguez, Charlotte Sweeney, Nina Nin-Yuen Wang Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the District of Colorado is one of 94 United States district courts. The court is based out of Denver at the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse. It also has a second courthouse in Denver and courts in Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Durango. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit based in downtown Denver at the Byron White Federal Courthouse.
The District of Colorado 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 Colorado consists of all the counties in the state of Colorado.
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.
See also
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
- LinkedIn profile
- CV from Kittredge LLC (archived November 2018)
Footnotes
- ↑ The White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighth Wave of Judicial Candidates," September 28, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Congress, "PN 1061 — Daniel Desmond Domenico — The Judiciary," accessed October 3, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Congress.gov, "PN228 — Daniel Desmond Domenico — The Judiciary," accessed April 10, 2019
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Domenico, Daniel Desmond," accessed May 8, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Daniel Desmond Domenico," accessed April 10, 2019
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Congress.gov, "PN1408 — Daniel Desmond Domenico — The Judiciary," accessed April 10, 2019
- ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," February 15, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," February 7, 2019
- ↑ 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. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," January 23, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 115th Congress," accessed April 9, 2019
- ↑ Kittredge LLC, "Curriculum vitae of Daniel D. Domenico," accessed September 29, 2017
- ↑ Linkedin, "Profile of Dan Domenico," accessed September 29, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the District of Colorado 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Philip Brimmer • Gordon Gallagher • Nina Nin-Yuen Wang • Regina Rodriguez • Daniel Domenico • S. Kato Crews • Charlotte Sweeney | ||
| Senior judges |
John Kane (Colorado) • Lewis Babcock • Marcia Krieger • Robert Blackburn • Christine Arguello • R. Brooke Jackson • William J. Martinez • Raymond P. Moore • | ||
| Magistrate judges | Michael Hegarty (Colorado) • Craig Shaffer • Scott Varholak • Reid Neureiter • James Candelaria • Maritza Dominguez Braswell • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Moses Hallett • William E. Doyle (Colorado) • Edward Nottingham • Walker Miller • Zita Weinshienk • Wiley Daniel • John Porfilio • Robert E. Lewis (Colorado judge) • John Foster Symes • Olin Chilson • Alfred Arraj • Jean Breitenstein • James Carrigan • Phillip Figa • Sherman Finesilver • Daniel Sparr • Fred Winner • William Knous • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Edward Nottingham • Richard Matsch • Lewis Babcock • Wiley Daniel • Alfred Arraj • Sherman Finesilver • Fred Winner • William Knous • | ||
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Colorado • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Colorado
State courts:
Colorado Supreme Court • Colorado Court of Appeals • Colorado District Courts • Colorado County Courts • Denver Probate Court • Denver Juvenile Court • Colorado Municipal Courts • Colorado Water Courts
State resources:
Courts in Colorado • Colorado judicial elections • Judicial selection in Colorado
