Mónica Ramírez Almadani

Central District of California
	Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 28
	Judges: 28
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Dolly Gee
	Active judges: Fernando Aenlle-Rocha, Mónica Ramírez Almadani, Percy Anderson, Jesus Bernal, André Birotte Jr., Stanley Blumenfeld, David Carter, Michelle Williams Court, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, Michael Fitzgerald, Sherilyn P. Garnett, Dolly Gee, John William Holcomb, Wesley L. Hsu, Anne Hwang, Kenly Kiya Kato, Robert Klausner, Serena R. Murillo, Fernando Olguin, Mark C. Scarsi, Fred W. Slaughter, Josephine Staton, Sunshine S. Sykes, Cynthia Valenzuela, Hernán D. Vera, John Walter, Stephen Wilson, Otis Wright; Senior judges:; Valerie Baker Fairbank, Dale Fischer, Terry Hatter, Aaron Kampfe, William Duffy Keller, John A. Kronstadt, Ronald Lew, Consuelo Marshall, Virginia Phillips, Dean Pregerson, James Selna, Christina Snyder, George Wu

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Mónica Ramírez Almadani
	Court: United States District Court for the Central District of California
Progress
	Confirmed 290 days after nomination.
	Nominated: January 23, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well qualified by a majority/Qualified by a minority
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: February 15, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: April 20, 2023
	Confirmed: November 9, 2023
	Vote: 51-44

Mónica Ramírez Almadani is a judge on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on January 23, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on November 9, 2023, by a vote of 51-44.^[1]^[2]^[3] Almadani 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 Central 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.

Prior to joining the court, Almadani was the President and CEO of Public Counsel.^[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

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

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On January 23, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Ramírez Almadani to the United States District Court for the Central District of California.^[2]^[1] Almadani received commission on November 21, 2023.^[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Almadani by a vote of 51-44 on November 9, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Almadani confirmation vote (November 9, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	1	44	4
Independent	3	0	0
Total	51^[4]	44	5

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Ramírez Almadani's nomination on February 15, 2023. She was reported to the full Senate on April 20, 2023, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[5] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee hearing.

Nomination

On December 21, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Ramírez Almadani to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The president officially nominated Ramírez Almadani on January 23, 2023. Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

Ramírez Almadani was nominated to replace Judge John A. Kronstadt, who assumed senior status on April 1, 2022.^[1]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Ramírez Almadani well qualified by a majority/qualified by a minority.^[6] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Ramírez Almadani earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2004 and her A.B. from Harvard University in 2001.^[3]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Central District of California
2021-2023: President and chief executive officer, Public Counsel, Los Angeles, California
2019-2021: Visiting assistant clinical professor of law and co-director, Immigrant Rights Clinic, University of California, Irvine School of Law
2017-2019: Private practice, Los Angeles, California
2015-2017: Special assistant attorney general, State of California
2012-2015: Assistant U.S. attorney, United States District Court for the Central District of California
2009-2012: U.S. Department of Justice
- 2009-2011: counsel to the assistant attorney general, Civil Rights Division
- 2011-2012: deputy chief of staff to the deputy attorney general
2005-2009: Immigrants' Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, San Francisco, California
- 2007-2009: staff attorney
- 2005-2007: Equal Justice Works Fellow
2004-2005: Law clerk, Warren Ferguson, United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit^[2] She began serving on the United States District Court for the Central District of California on November 21, 2023.^[3]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Central District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. The court serves about seventeen million people in southern and central California, making it the largest federal judicial district by population. The district operates out of courthouses in Santa Ana, Riverside and two locations in Los Angeles. 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 in Pasadena at the Richard Chambers Courthouse.

The Central 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.

There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Eastern Division, covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties.^[7]

The Southern Division, covering Orange County.^[7]

The Western Division, covering Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.^[7]

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.