Judge Mendoza will be the first Latino from Washington State to serve on the Ninth Circuit
Murray: “Judge Mendoza has been a trailblazer, focused on building a more fair and just legal system that works for everyone—not just the wealthy and well-off.”
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) applauded the confirmation of Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr., a Washington state-native, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by a vote of 46-40. Judge Mendoza will be the first Latino from Washington state to serve on the Ninth Circuit bench.
Senator Murray recommended Judge Mendoza to the Biden-Harris administration following Judge Margaret McKeown’s announcement that she would take senior status. Judge Mendoza is the 6th federal judge from Washington state confirmed to a lifetime appointment during this Congress, all of whom were recommended by Senator Murray.
“Judge Mendoza has been a trailblazer, focused on building a more fair and just legal system that works for everyone—not just the wealthy and well-off,” said Senator Murray. “In his time on the bench in the Eastern District [of Washington], he has presided over nearly 1,500 cases—including appellate cases—where he treated every party who came before him with fairness and respect.
“Beyond just his impeccable professional qualifications, Judge Mendoza will bring an important perspective to one of the most consequential appellate courts in this country: the perspective of someone whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico and worked as farm laborers, maids, and factory workers to build a better life for their family,” continued Senator Murray. “I have no doubt—and based on his record I think there can be no doubt—that serving on the Ninth Circuit, Judge Mendoza will carefully review each case as an appellate judge, respect every party that appears before him, and protect the rights of the American people.”
Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. has served as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Washington since 2014—he was confirmed by the full Senate for this role by a bipartisan vote of 92-4. Judge Mendoza previously served as a Washington State Superior Court Judge from 2013 to 2014. From 1999 to 2013, Judge Mendoza was a solo practitioner, then president, of a small law firm in Eastern Washington, and he also served as a judge pro tempore on various local courts. From 1998 to 1999, Judge Mendoza served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and from 1997 to 1998, he was an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Washington State Attorney General. Judge Mendoza’s parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico working as farm laborers, maids, and factory workers to build a better life for their family—and as a child, Judge Mendoza worked as a migrant farmworker. He went on to receive his B.A. from the University of Washington in 1994, and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1997. Judge Mendoza will be the first Latino from Washington state to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court bench.
Senator Murray has been a vocal supporter of the confirmation of highly qualified judicial candidates who represent the diverse communities in Washington state and across the country, with a special emphasis on increasing professional diversity on the federal court. Most recently, Senator Murray secured the confirmations of Tana Lin, Washington state’s first ever Asian American federal judge and a former public defender and civil rights lawyer; Lauren King, a tribal law expert who is serving as Washington state’s first ever Native American federal judge; John Chun, who will be the first Asian American man to serve as a federal judge in Washington state; David Estudillo, the son of Mexican immigrants and a former immigration attorney; and Kit Dimke who is serving in the Eastern District of Washington from the Spokane Courthouse.
She is also pushing for the confirmation of Tiffany Cartwright, a leading civil rights lawyer who advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support, as well as three nominees who have yet to receive a hearing: Jamal Whitehead, the Biden Administration’s first nominee with a disability to the federal bench, and Kymberly Evanson to the Western District of Washington, and Charnelle Bjelkengren, who is nominated to fill Judge Mendoza’s seat and would become the first Black woman to sit on the Eastern District of Washington.
See below for a statement submitted for the Congressional Record by Senator Murray:
“I rise today in support of the nomination of Judge Salvador Mendoza, from my home state of Washington, to serve on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
“I was honored to recommend Judge Mendoza for this seat to President Biden, and to introduce him before the Senate Judiciary Committee in May.
“I was thrilled to see him advance out of the Committee in a bipartisan vote and I couldn’t be happier to support him today and to strongly urge all my colleagues to join me in voting for his confirmation to the bench.
“Judge Mendoza is a lifelong Washington state resident, and a tremendously qualified candidate to join the Ninth Circuit Court. He has served as a district court judge for the Eastern District of Washington since 2014, when he was confirmed by the Senate with an overwhelming, bipartisan majority of 92-4.
“In his time on the bench in the Eastern District, he has presided over nearly 1,500 cases—including appellate cases—where he treated every party who came before him with fairness and respect.
“And before that, he served Washington state as a Superior Court Judge.
“He also has experience as a prosecutor, in the state Attorney General’s office, and as a solo practitioner—where he often represented defendants who could not afford their own attorneys.
“He also worked to establish the first Drug Court in Benton and Franklin counties along with prosecutors, defense attorneys, mental health professionals, and other judges.
“From representing those without means, to establishing drug courts, to serving with distinction on the Eastern District Court, Judge Mendoza has been a trailblazer, focused on building a more fair and just legal system that works for everyone—not just the wealthy and well-off.
“Judge Mendoza’s many years of public service and even-handed application of the law have earned him not only the support of people across the state of Washington, but also the respect of both Democrats and Republicans.
“It’s why my bipartisan judicial merit selection committee—which includes top Republican lawyers—recommended him to serve in his current District Court judgeship eight years ago, and why he was confirmed to that judgeship in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.
“And that should be no different today.
“Beyond just his impeccable professional qualifications, Judge Mendoza will bring an important perspective to one of the most consequential appellate courts in this country: the perspective of someone whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico and worked as farm laborers, maids, and factory workers to build a better life for their family.
“The perspective of someone who, as a child, worked beside them on farms in the Yakima Valley.
‘The perspective of someone who was the first Latino federal judge in the Eastern District of Washington and who would break new ground once again as the first Latino from Washington state to serve on the Ninth Circuit.
“Confirming Judge Mendoza will bring us even closer to building a federal bench that reflects the diversity of the people it serves.
“That’s especially important to me, and to the many people across the country who don’t currently see themselves represented on our nation’s courts.
“I have no doubt—and based on his record I think there can be no doubt that serving on the Ninth Circuit, Judge Mendoza will carefully review each case as an appellate judge, respect every party that appears before him, and protect the rights of the American people.
“I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting his confirmation.
“Thank you.”
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