Krissa Lanham

District of Arizona
	Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 13
	Judges: 13
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Jennifer Zipps
	Active judges: Susan Brnovich, Sharad Desai, John Hinderaker, Diane Humetewa, Krissa Lanham, Dominic Lanza, Michael Liburdi, Steven Logan, Rosemary Marquez, Angela Martinez, Scott Rash, John Tuchi, Jennifer Zipps; Senior judges:; Susan Bolton, David Bury, David G. Campbell, Raner Collins, Cindy Jorgenson, Frederick Martone, Stephen McNamee, Douglas Rayes, Roslyn Silver, G. Murray Snow, James A. Soto, James Teilborg, Neil Wake, Frank Zapata

Krissa Lanham is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on February 27, 2024, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 21, 2024, by a vote of 66-26. Lanham will join the court upon receiving her judicial commission and taking her judicial oath.^[1]^[2] Lanham 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 Arizona 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, Lanham was Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Arizona (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On February 27, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Lanham to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. She was confirmed by a 66-26 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2024.^[1] Lanham received commission on June 3, 2024.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Lanham confirmation vote (May 21, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	44	0	4
Republican	20	26	3
Independent	2	0	1
Total	66^[4]	26	8

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Lanham's nomination on March 20, 2024. The committee voted to advance Lanham's nomination to the full Senate on April 18, 2024.^[1] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On February 27, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Krissa Lanham to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.^[1]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Lanham Well Qualified.^[5] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Lanham was nominated to replace Judge Douglas Rayes, who assumed senior status on June 1, 2024.^[6]

Biography

Education

Lanham earned a bachelor's degree in 2002 and a law degree in 2007 from Yale University.^[2]

Professional career

DATE-present: Judge, United States District Court for the District of Arizona
2009-2024: Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Arizona
- 2020-2024: Appellate Division chief
- 2015-2020: deputy appellate chief
- 2012-2015: human trafficking coordinator
- 2010-2015: medical marijuana coordinator
2008-2009: Law clerk, Hon. Barry G. Silverman, U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
2007-2008: Law clerk, Hon. Robert N. Chatigny, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut^[2]

About the court

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona is one of 94 United States district courts. Cases are heard in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and Prescott. 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 at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse. Initial appeals are heard at the Richard Chambers Federal Courthouse in Pasadena, California. The jurisdiction of the District of Arizona consists of all the counties in the state of Arizona. Court is held in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and Prescott.

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

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.