Senator Murray: “Bottom line: Judge Dimke is qualified to become a federal district court judge and will make an excellent addition to the federal bench from the Spokane Courthouse”
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) hailed the Senate’s confirmation today of U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Katherine (“Kit”) Dimke to serve as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Washington, by a vote of 47-23. Ahead of the vote, Senator Murray submitted a statement to the Congressional Record urging her colleagues to support Judge Dimke’s confirmation.
Murray recommended Judge Dimke to the White House earlier this year after she was submitted to the Senator for consideration by Murray’s nonpartisan judicial merit selection committee for the Eastern District of Washington. Senator Murray’s process for recommending candidates for the federal bench has been lauded as a national model for senators to replicate—for its emphasis on diversity of professional experience and background.
At the start of the year, there were six federal court vacancies in Washington state out of eleven, leaving more than half of Washington’s federal bench empty. With Judge Dimke’s confirmation, Senator Murray has filled four of Washington state’s six vacancies in less than one year, with an additional nominee – Judge John Chun – having already been reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and only one more candidate left to be officially nominated by the White House. The other three confirmed judges—Judge David Estudillo, Lauren King, and Tana Lin—have brought a historic diversity of professional experience and background to Washington state’s federal bench.
“In this Congress, we have sent a clear message that the judicial system belongs to the American people and it should work for all of the American people, not just the powerful and well-connected,” said Senator Murray. “Judge Dimke is someone with a proven track record who is committed to improving access to the Court, and will look for ways for the Court to work equitably for all participants and for each voice to be heard. Bottom line: Judge Dimke has the qualifications and experience needed to be a federal district court judge and will make an excellent addition to the federal bench from the Spokane Courthouse.”
Born in Clarkston, Washington, Judge Mary Katherine (“Kit”) Dimke has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Washington since 2016. Prior to becoming a judge, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington from 2012 to 2016 and for the Western District of Washington from 2008 to 2012. Judge Dimke joined the U.S. Department of Justice through its Honors Program in 2004 where she served as an attorney in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division in Washington, D.C. until 2007. Judge Dimke served as a law clerk for Judge Richard C. Tallman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Seattle, Washington from 2003 to 2004. She also served as a law clerk for Judge Alan B. Johnson on the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming in Cheyenne from 2002 to 2003.
Judge Dimke, a first-generation college graduate, received her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2002 as a member of the Order of the Coif and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Pepperdine University in 1999. Her community service work has focused on students. As a current member of the Tri-Cities Youth & Justice Forum Planning Committee, sponsored by the Washington State Minority and Justice Committee, she has worked to encourage middle and high school students from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the justice system professions to pursue careers in law and other areas.
Read more about Judge Dimke’s nomination HERE.
Senator Murray’s Congressional Record Statement in support of Judge Dimke can be found below:
“M. President, I urge my colleagues to confirm Judge Kit Dimke for a district court vacancy in the Eastern District of Washington.
“To begin, I want to thank President Biden for nominating Judge Dimke for this position at my strong recommendation. At the start of this Congress, there were six federal district court vacancies in Washington state—six. More than half the federal bench in Washington state was empty. Those vacancies put a huge strain on our federal courts but thanks to the quick work of this Senate with Judge Dimke’s confirmation there will be just two, with another nominee voted out of Committee just yesterday.
“We have confirmed more than 30 circuit and district judges to lifetime appointments and I could not be prouder that, once we confirm Judge Dimke, four of them will serve Washington state. In this Congress, we have sent a clear message that the judicial system belongs to the American people and it should work for all of the American people, not just the powerful and well-connected.
“We are delivering on that commitment by appointing federal judges who reflect the diversity of our communities and who bring important professional diversity that has been missing from our courts for too long. Just this Congress, we have confirmed to the federal bench in my state Lauren King, a respected tribal law expert and Washington state’s first Native American federal judge; Tana Lin, a civil rights lawyer, the first former public defender, and the first Asian American federal judge in my home state; David Estudillo, the son of immigrants, a respected state court judge, and a former immigration attorney. And soon, I hope this Senate will vote to confirm Judge Kit Dimke.
“Judge Dimke is currently a federal magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Washington. She knows the current judges and the lay of the land well, having served in that role since 2016, and is a highly respected judicial colleague. Given her current role, she has meaningful experience in both criminal and civil federal litigation.
“Judge Dimke’s entire career has been in public service—she previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington. A native of Washington state, she grew up in rural Asotin County as the child of a cattle ranger and lumber mill owner—she knows Eastern Washington. Judge Dimke attended the Running Start program at Walla Walla Community College in high school, and went on to obtain her undergraduate degree from Pepperdine University and law degree from Vanderbilt. She is someone with a proven track record who is committed to improving access to the Court and will look for ways for the Court to work equitably for all participants and for each voice to be heard.
“Judge Dimke has already demonstrated that commitment as a magistrate judge, having worked to expand the court’s mediation services, improved and diversified the Court’s indigent defense services, and more quickly resolved one of the top areas of litigation that the Eastern District sees—Social Security disability appeals. She participates in the Court’s Judicial Institute, volunteering to judge the Court’s civics competitions for students. And she is actively engaged in the court’s external outreach regarding the crisis missing and murdered Native American and Indigenous women—a significant and serious problem facing tribal communities in Washington state. Bottom line: Judge Dimke is qualified to become a federal district court judge and will make an excellent addition to the federal bench from the Spokane Courthouse. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm her today.”
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