Julia Kobick

District of Massachusetts
	First Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 13
	Judges: 11
	Vacancies: 2
Judges
	Chief: Denise Casper
	Active judges: Allison Dale Burroughs, Denise Casper, Margaret R. Guzman, Myong Joun, Angel Kelley, Julia Kobick, Mark G. Mastroianni, Brian Murphy, Leo Sorokin, Richard Stearns, Indira Talwani; Senior judges:; Nathaniel Gorton, Timothy Hillman, George O'Toole, Michael Ponsor, Patti Saris, Dennis Saylor, Mark Wolf, Douglas Woodlock, William G. Young, Rya Zobel

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Julia Kobick
	Court: United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Progress
	Confirmed 463 days after nomination.
	Nominated: August 1, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified by a substantial majority and Qualified by a minority
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: November 30, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: February 9, 2023
	Confirmed: November 7, 2023
	Vote: 52-46

Julia Kobick is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on August 1, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on November 7, 2023, by a vote of 52-46.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Kobick 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 Massachusetts 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.

Prior to joining the court, Kobick was the deputy state solicitor in the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General.^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On July 29, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Kobick to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He officially nominated her on August 1, 2022.^[1]^[2] Kobick's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[6] The president renominated Kobick on January 23, 2023.^[3] She was confirmed by a 52-46 vote of the U.S. Senate on November 7, 2023. Kobick received commission on November 13, 2023.^[5] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kobick by a vote of 52-46 on November 7, 2023.^[5] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Julia Kobick confirmation vote (November 7, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	1	0
Republican	2	45	2
Independent	3	0	0
Total	52^[7]	46	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Kobick's nomination on November 30, 2022. Kobick's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[8]

The president renominated Kobick on January 23, 2023.^[3] In a committee hearing on February 9, 2023, Abudu was reported to the full Senate, after a 11-10 committee vote.^[4] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee hearing.

Nomination

On July 29, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Kobick to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.^[1] The president officially nominated Kobick on August 1, 2022.^[2]

Kobick's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[9] The president renominated Kobick on January 23, 2023.^[3]

Kobick was nominated to replace Judge William G. Young, who assumed senior status on July 1, 2021.^[2]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Kobick Well Qualified by a substantial majority and Qualified by a minority.^[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Kobick earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 2005 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2010.^[1]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
2013-2023: Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General
- 2021-2023: Deputy state solicitor
- 2013-2021: Assistant attorney general
2012-2013: Law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, United States Supreme Court
2011-2012: Law clerk for Judge Michael Chagares, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
2010-2011: Law clerk for Judge F. Dennis Saylor, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts^[1]

About the court

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit based in downtown Boston at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse. There are two other courthouses in Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts.^[11]

The District of Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts consists of all the counties in the state of Massachusetts. The court's headquarters are in Boston, with courthouses in Springfield and Worcester.

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.