SAN FRANCISCO — The United States Senate on Monday voted to confirm President Joe Biden’s nomination of U.S. District Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr., to serve as a U.S. circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Upon taking his oath, Judge Mendoza would become the first Hispanic judge from Washington State to serve on the Ninth Circuit. Confirmation came by a vote of 46-40.
Judge Mendoza was nominated for the judgeship on April 25, 2022, and had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 11, 2022. His nomination was reported to the Senate floor on June 9, 2022. Upon the president’s signing of his judicial commission, Judge Mendoza will occupy a seat made vacant by Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown’s assumption of senior status.
Judge Mendoza has served as a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Washington since 2014. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on Jan. 16, 2014, and was confirmed by the Senate on June 17, 2014. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, Judge Mendoza had served as a Washington Superior Court judge for Benton and Franklin counties since 2013. Previously, he had practiced law as a solo practitioner in various law partnerships since 1999. Judge Mendoza served as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, 2010-2013.
Judge Mendoza also previously served as a judge pro tempore in various district, municipal and juvenile courts in Benton and Franklin counties. He served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, 1998-1999, and was an assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General for Washington State, 1997-1998.
Born in Pacoima, California, Judge Mendoza received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law in 1997 and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington in 1994.
The Ninth Circuit encompasses Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state, the U.S. Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It includes the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the federal trial and bankruptcy courts in the 15 judicial districts within the circuit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had 9,141 new filings in calendar year 2021. All 29 authorized judgeships are currently filled.
Appointed under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, federal circuit judges are nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate and serve lifetime appointments upon good behavior.
Salvador Mendoza Jr.
