Sheri Jean Polster Chappell (born May 30, 1962) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are app ...

Biography

Chappell was born Sheri Jean Polster on May 30, 1962, in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and attended Kiel High School in

Kiel, Wisconsin Kiel is a city in Calumet and Manitowoc counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,738 at the 2010 census. Of this, 3,429 residents lived in Manitowoc County, and 309 residents lived in Calumet County. The city is located p ...

where she graduated in 1980. Chappell received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1984 from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

after attending the

University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW–Eau Claire, UWEC or simply Eau Claire) is a public university in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's and master's degrees. UW–Eau Claire h ...

from 1980 to 1982. She received her Juris Doctor in 1987 from Shepard Broad Law Center at

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU or, informally, Nova) is a private nonprofit research university with its main campus in Davie, Florida. The university consists of 14 total colleges, centers, and schools offering over 150 programs of study ...

. She served as an Assistant State Attorney in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

from 1987 to 2000. She served as a County Court Judge in Lee County from 2000 to 2003. From 2003 to 2013, she served as a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...

for the Middle District of Florida.

Federal judicial service

On June 25, 2012, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

nominated Chappell to be a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, to the seat vacated by Judge Gregory A. Presnell, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on April 1, 2012. On September 19, 2012, the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

held a hearing on her nomination and reported her nomination to the floor on December 6, 2012, by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. On January 2, 2013, her nomination was returned to the President, due to the sine die adjournment of the Senate. She was renominated for the same office on January 3, 2013. On March 7, 2013, a voice vote brought up her nomination once more. The Senate confirmed her nomination on May 20, 2013, by a 90–0 vote. She received her commission on May 22, 2013.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Sheri Polster 1962 births Living people Florida state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida Nova Southeastern University alumni People from Sheboygan, Wisconsin State attorneys United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama 21st-century American judges United States magistrate judges University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni 21st-century American women judges