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James P. Arguelles
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2010 - Present
2031
15
James P. Arguelles is a judge of the Superior Court of Sacramento County in California. He assumed office in 2010. His current term ends on January 6, 2031.
Arguelles won re-election for judge of the Superior Court of Sacramento County in California outright in the primary on March 5, 2024, after the primary and general election were canceled.
Arguelles was appointed to the superior court in October 2010 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to succeed Thomas M. Cecil.[1]
On June 18, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Arguelles to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Arguelles' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2021. Click here for more information on Arguelles' federal judicial nomination.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California 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.
Biography
James P. Arguelles received his B.S. as a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, his M.S.S. as a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Army War College, and his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. Arguelles has served as a military judge in the United States Army Reserve. Before becoming a judge on the Superior Court of Sacramento County in 2010, Arguelles was a partner at Stevens, O’Connell & Jacobs, LLP, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, and in private practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP. After law school, Arguelles was a law clerk to Judge Marilyn Huff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Sacramento County, California (2024)
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. James P. Arguelles (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Arguelles in this election.
2018
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. James P. Arguelles (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2012
- See also: California judicial elections, 2012
Arguelles ran for re-election to the superior court in 2012. As an unopposed incumbent, his name did not appear on the ballot. After the primary election, Arguelles was automatically re-elected.[3]
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election
The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.[4][5][6][7]
If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.[4]
The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.[4]
Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.[4]
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On June 18, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Arguelles to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: James Arguelles |
| Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of California |
| Progress |
| Returned 199 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: June 18, 2020
|
| ABA Rating: Well qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
 Hearing:
|
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported:
|
| Confirmed:
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| Returned: January 3, 2021
|
Nomination
On June 8, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Arguelles to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.[2] The president officially submitted the nomination on June 18.[8] Arguelles' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2021.[9]
Arguelles was nominated to replace Judge Lawrence O'Neill, who assumed senior status on February 2, 2020.
The American Bar Association rated Arguelles well qualified for the position.[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
About the court
| Eastern District of California |
|---|
| Ninth Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 6 |
| Judges: 6 |
| Vacancies: 0 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Troy L. Nunley |
| Active judges: Daniel Calabretta, Dena Coggins, Dale A. Drozd, Troy L. Nunley, Kirk Sherriff, Jennifer L. Thurston Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates at courthouses in Sacramento, Fresno, Redding, Bakersfield, and Yosemite When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in downtown San Francisco, California, at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse.
The Eastern District of California has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of California consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of California.
There are five court divisions, with the two main court divisions covering the following counties:
The Fresno Division, covering Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties
The Sacramento Division, covering Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba counties
The Eastern Division hears cases from Riverside and San Bernardino counties at its Riverside courthouse.
The Bakersfield office has jurisdiction over certain cases in Inyo and Kern counties and on federal lands and National Parks. These cases are heard in courthouses in Bakersfield, at Edwards Air Force Base, and in Independence, California.
The Redding/Susanville office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks in four locations: Alturas, Chester, Herlong and Redding.
The South Lake Tahoe office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for federal lands and National Parks.
The Yosemite office hears misdemeanors and petty crimes for Yosemite National Park.
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
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Schwarzenegger Appoints James Arguelles to Sacramento County Superior Court," October 18, 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominee," June 8, 2020
- ↑ Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, Candidate Handbook (dead link)'scroll to page 13
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: California," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Safeguarding California's judicial election process," August 21, 2011
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8203," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8140-8150," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ Congress.gov, "PN2026 — James P. Arguelles — The Judiciary," accessed June 19, 2020
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary: Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees: 116th Congress," accessed September 2, 2020
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
