Amanda Kathleen Brailsford (born 1967) 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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Idaho The United States District Court for the District of Idaho (in case citations, D. Idaho) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Idaho (except for the part of the state within Yellowstone National Park, which is un ...

. She previously served as a judge of the

Idaho Court of Appeals The Idaho Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Idaho; created by statute by the state legislature, operations began in 1982. The court is housed in the Idaho Supreme Court building in Boise. Jurisdiction Th ...

from 2019 to 2023.

Education

Born in

Twin Falls, Idaho Twin Falls is the county seat of and the largest city in Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The city had a population of 51,807 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.

, Brailsford grew up in Hagerman. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1989 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from its College of Law in 1993.

Career

Following law school, Brailsford served as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Judge Thomas G. Nelson of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

from 1993 to 1995. She worked at the

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

office of Holland & Hart LLP as an associate from 1995 to 2002, and as a partner from 2003 to 2013. She was a founding partner of the law firm of Andersen Banducci PLLC from 2013 to 2017.

Idaho Court of Appeals

On November 30, 2018, Brailsford was appointed as a judge of the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Butch Otter Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd List of Governors of Idaho, governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, h ...

to the seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Sergio Gutierrez. She assumed office in 2019 and left in 2023 to become a federal judge.

Notable rulings

In 2022, Brailsford wrote the opinion for the Idaho Court of Appeals affirming an aggravated DUI conviction for Cyrus Buehler. Buehler was accused of being intoxicated while driving his pickup truck that struck a man operating a motorized bicycle. Also that year, Brailsford wrote the opinion for the court affirming Shoshone County Sheriff Darrell Gunderson's decision to deny a concealed weapons license to Robert Peterson. Gunderson disqualified Peterson due to his prior conviction of possessing material sexually exploiting children.

Federal judicial service

On January 18, 2023, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

announced his intent to nominate Brailsford to serve as a

of the

U.S. District Court 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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

in Idaho. On January 31, 2023, her nomination was sent to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. President Biden nominated Brailsford to the seat vacated by Judge

B. Lynn Winmill Barry Lynn Winmill (born March 18, 1952) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho. Early life and education Born and raised in Blackfoot, Idaho, Winmill grew up on a dairy farm.

, who assumed senior status on August 16, 2021. On March 22, 2023, a hearing on her nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

. On April 27, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by 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 respondin ...

. On May 4, 2023, the

confirmed her nomination by a voice vote. Brailsford received her judicial commission on May 17, 2023, and was sworn in on May 19, 2023. She is the first woman to serve on the U.S. District Court in Idaho.

Notable cases

In ''Creech v. United States District Court for the District of Idaho'', Brailsford received calls to recuse herself from a lawsuit brought by death row inmate Thomas Eugene Creech alleging prosecutorial fabrication of evidence. Brailsford had a close personal friendship with Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts, whose office oversaw the prosecution of Creech for the 1981 murder of inmate David Dale Jenson. While previously having clerked with and developed a friendship with Bennetts under Judge Thomas G. Nelson in 1993, Brailsford justified her lack of recusal by saying the two had "lost touch". Writing for a three judge panel for the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

, Judge

Jay Bybee Jay Scott Bybee (born October 27, 1953) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a senior U.S. circuit judge of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has published numerous articles in law journals and has taught as a senior fellow ...

determined that, while Brailsford likely would have been able to hear the case in good faith, her impartiality would have been reasonably questioned due to the unique circumstances of the case, ultimately supporting her removal from the case.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brailsford, Amanda 1967 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Idaho lawyers Idaho state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho People from Gooding County, Idaho People from Twin Falls, Idaho United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden University of Idaho alumni University of Idaho College of Law alumni