It’s the 12 Days of Ballotpedia! Your gift powers the trusted, unbiased information voters need heading into 2026. Donate now!
Maria-Elena James
Maria-Elena James was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She was appointed to this position on October 11, 1994. She retired in 2018.[1][2]
Education
Judge James received her B.A. degree from the University of California at Irvine in 1975 and her J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco Law School in 1978.[1]
Career
Judge James began her career in 1978 at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. She was the Director of the San Francisco Small Claims Court Education Project and worked in the Consumer Fraud Unit. The following year, she became a San Francisco Deputy Public Defender. She then joined the National Labor Relations Board in 1983, where she worked as a staff attorney for a year. From 1984 to 1988, she was a Deputy City Attorney and a Supervising Attorney for the "Family and Child Services" department of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. In 1988, she became a Commissioner on the San Francisco Superior Court. She was a Civil Discovery and Civil Law Motion Commissioner until 1989, when she became a Family Law Commissioner. She worked in this capacity until she was appointed magistrate judge in 1994.[1]
See also
- United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
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