Zachary Bluestone

Eastern District of Missouri
	Eighth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 9
	Judges: 8
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: Stephen Clark
	Active judges: ; Henry Autrey, Zachary Bluestone, Stephen Clark, Joshua Divine, Maria Lanahan, Sarah Pitlyk, Matthew Schelp, Cristian M. Stevens, Brian C. Wimes; Senior judges:; Edward Filippine, Audrey Fleissig, Jean Hamilton, Nanette Laughrey, Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., Catherine Perry, John A. Ross, Rodney Sippel, E. Richard Webber

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Zachary Bluestone
	Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
Progress
	Confirmed 72 days after nomination.
	Nominated: May 12, 2025
	ABA Rating:
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: June 4, 2025
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: June 26, 2025
	Confirmed: July 23, 2025
	Vote: 49-47

Zachary Bluestone is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on May 12, 2025, and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 23, 2025, by a vote of 49-47.^[1]^[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri 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, Bluestone was the appellate chief and a violent crimes prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (2025-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On May 6, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Bluestone to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.^[3] Trump officially nominated Bluestone on May 12, 2025. Bluestone was confirmed by a 49-47 vote of the U.S. Senate on July 23, 2025.^[1] He received commission on July 24, 2025.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Bluestone by a vote of 49-47 on July 23, 2025.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Bluestone confirmation vote (July 23, 2025)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	0	45	0
Republican	49	0	4
Independent	0	2	0
Total	49^[4]	47	4

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Bluestone was reported to the full Senate on June 26, 2025, after a 12-10 committee vote.^[5]

Nomination

On May 6, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Zachary Bluestone to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He officially nominated Bluestone on May 12, 2025.^[1] As of May 12, 2025, Bluestone was awaiting a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Donald Trump.

Bluestone was nominated to replace Judge John Ross, who assumed senior status on June 9, 2023.^[6]

Biography

Education

Bluestone was born in 1986 in Chesterfield, Missouri. He earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 2009, a graduate degree from the University of Oxford in 2011, and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 2016.^[2]

Professional career

2025-Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
2020-2025: Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Missouri
- 2021-2025: appellate chief
- 2020-2025: Violent Crimes Unit
2018-2020: Office of the Missouri Attorney General
- 2020: special assistant attorney general
- 2018-2020: deputy solicitor general
2016-2018: Law clerk, Hon. Raymond W. Gruender, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
2016: Legal fellow, U.S. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, Office of the President Pro Tempore^[2]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Cape Girardeau, St. Louis, and Hannibal, Missouri. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse and Building.

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

The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Missouri consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of Missouri.

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

The Eastern Division, covering Crawford, Dent, Franklin, Gasconade, Iron, Jefferson, Lincoln, Maries, Phelps, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Sainte Genevieve, Saint Louis, Warren, and Washington counties, as well as the City of St. Louis.

The Northern Division, covering Adair, Audrain, Chariton, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Pike, Ralls, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland, and Shelby counties.

The Southeastern Division, covering Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard, and Wayne counties.

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.