This Giving Tuesday, help ensure voters have the information they need to make confident, informed decisions. Donate now!
Sarah Vance (Louisiana)
Sarah S. Vance is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She joined the court in 1994 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. Vance served as chief judge of the district court from 2008 to 2015. Vance assumed senior status on January 16, 2024.[1][2]
Early life and education
Born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, Vance graduated from Louisiana State University with her bachelor's degree in 1971 and later obtained her J.D. from Tulane Law School in 1978.[2]
Professional career
- 1994-2024: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- 2024-present: Senior judge
- 1978-1994: Private practice[2]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Louisiana
On the recommendation of Louisiana U.S. Senators John Breaux and Bennett Johnston, Vance was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by President Bill Clinton on June 8, 1994, to a seat vacated by Henry Mentz. Vance was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 28, 1994 and received commission on September 29, 1994. She began serving as chief judge for the court in 2008.[2][3]
Noteworthy cases
Road home thief case (2009)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (USA v. Dowl, 2:08-cr-00164-SSV-SS)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (USA v. Dowl, 2:08-cr-00164-SSV-SS)
Judge Vance presided in the case of Barbara Simmons Dowl, who was caught for her role in the collecting Road Home funds. Dowl was convicted in June of 2009 of theft, making false statements, and wire fraud. Judge Vance sentenced Dowl to nearly six years in prison on October 7, 2009, one more year than the federal sentencing minimum, citing the emotional distress of victims for the additional time.[4]
See also
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
External links
|
Officeholder United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana |
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Courts, "Future Judicial Vacancies," accessed January 2, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Judge Vance's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ntquery/D?nomis:1:./temp/ nomisPN6Drx:: The Library of Congress, Sarah Vance USDC, EDLA confirmation:PN1471-103]
- ↑ "NOLA.com" "Federal judge takes harsh line in sentencing Road Home thief," October 7, 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Mentz |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana 1994-2024 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 |
Adams • Ambrose • Barnes • Brinkema • Bucklew • Chasanow • Coffman • Daughtrey • Ferguson • Ginsburg • Hagen • Jackson • Lancaster • Leval • Lindsay • Messitte • Michael • Piersol • Saris • Schwartz • Seybert • Shanahan • Shaw • Stearns • Trager • Vazquez • Wilken • Wilson | ||
| 1994 |
Baer • Barkett • Batts • Beaty • Benavides • Bennett • Berrigan • Biery • Block • Borman • Breyer • Briones • Bryson • Bucklo • Burgess • Burrage • Cabranes • Calabresi • Carr • Casellas • Castillo • Chatigny • Chin • Cindrich • Coar • Collins • Cooper • Cote • Currie • Davis • Dominguez • Downes • Duval • Friedman • Furgeson • Garcia • Gertner • Gettleman • Gillmor • Gilmore • Gleeson • Haggerty • Hamilton • Hannah • Hawkins • Henry • Holmes • Hood • Hull • Hurley • Jack • Jones • Jones • Kaplan • Katz • Kern • Kessler • Koeltl • Lisi • Manning • McKee • McLaughlin • Melancon • Miles-LaGrange • Moore • Motz • Murphy • O'Malley • O'Meara • Oliver • Paez • B. Parker • F. Parker • R. Parker • Perry • Ponsor • Pooler • Porteous • Rendell • Riley • Robertson • Rogers • Ross • Russell • Sands • Sarokin • Scheindlin • Silver • Squatrito • Stewart • Sullivan • Tatel • Thompson • Timlin • Urbina • Vanaskie • Vance • Walls • Wells • Williams | ||
| 1995 |
Arterton • Atlas • Black • Blake • Briscoe • Tena Campbell • Todd Campbell • Chesney • Cole • Collier • Daniel • Davis • Dennis • Dlott • Donald • Duffy • Economus • Evans • Fallon • Folsom • Gaughan • Goodwin • Heartfield • Hunt • Illston • Jones • King • Kornmann • Lawson • Lenard • Lucero • Lynch • McKinley • Moody • Moore • Moskowitz • Murphy • Murtha • Nugent • O'Toole • Orlofsky • Pogue • Sessions • C. Smith • O. Smith • Stein • Thornburg • Tunheim • Wallach • Wardlaw • Webber • Whaley • Winmill • Wood | ||
| 1996 |
Broadwater • Clevert • Fenner • Gershon • Gottschall • Greenaway • Hinkle • Jones • Kahn • Laughrey • Lemmon • Marten • Miller • Molloy • Montgomery • Pregerson • Rakoff • Sargus • Tashima • Thomas • Zapata | ||
| 1997 |
Adelman • Bataillon • Breyer • Caputo • Casey • Chambers • Clay • Damrell • Droney • Friedman • Gajarsa • Garland • Gilman • Gold • Gwin • Hall • Hayden • Hull • Ishii • Jenkins • Kauffman • Kennedy • Kimball • Kollar-Kotelly • Lazzara • Marbley • Marcus • Middlebrooks • Miller • Moon • Pratt • Rendell • Sippel • Siragusa • Snyder • Thrash | ||
| 1998 |
Aiken • Barbier • Barzilay • Berman • Buttram • Carter • Collins • Dawson • Dimitrouleas • Fletcher • Fogel • Frank • Graber • Hellerstein • Herndon • James • Johnson • Kane • Kelly • G. King • R. King • Lasnik • Lee • Lemelle • Lindsay • Lipez • Manella • Matz • McCuskey • McKeown • McMahon • Mickle • Mollway • Mordue • Moreno • Morrow • Munley • Murphy • Pallmeyer • Pauley • Polster • Pooler • Rawlinson • Ridgway • R. Roberts • V. Roberts • Sack • Scott • Seitz • Seymour • Shea • Silverman • Sleet • Sotomayor • Steeh • Story • Straub • Tagle • Tarnow • Trauger • Traxler • Tyson • Wardlaw • Whelan • Young | ||
| 1999 |
Alsup • Barry • Brown • Buchwald • Cooper • Eaton • Ellison • Feess • Fisher • Gould • Guzman • Haynes • Hibbler • Hochberg • Hurd • Huvelle • Jordan • Katzmann • Kennelly • Linn • Lorenz • Lynn • Marrero • Murguia • Pannell • Pechman • Pepper • Phillips • Schreier • Stewart • Underhill • Ward • Williams • Wilson | ||
| 2000 |
Ambro • Antoon • Battani • Berzon • Bolton • Brady • Bye • Cavanaugh • Daniels • Darrah • Dawson • Dyk • Fuentes • Garaufis • Garcia-Gregory • Hamilton • Huck • Hunt • Lawson • Lefkow • Lynch • Martin • McLaughlin • Moody • Murguia • Paez • Pisano • Presnell • Rawlinson • Reagan • Schiller • Singal • Steele • Surrick • Swain • Tallman • Teilborg • Tucker • Whittemore | ||
 |
State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
