Carlos Tiburcio Bea (born April 18, 1934) is a Spanish-born American judge and lawyer. He is a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

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 ...

. He was appointed to that court by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 2003 to replace Judge Charles Edward Wiggins.

Biography

Bea was born in San Sebastian,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and emigrated with his family in 1939 to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. While present under a non-immigrant visa, he studied at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and received his

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 ...

degree there in 1956. He joined

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States–based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapt ...

International Fraternity while at Stanford. In 1952, Bea represented Cuba as a member of the country's basketball team in the

Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

. Upon his return, he was put into deportation proceedings for allegedly avoiding the draft. Bea suggested to the immigration judge that he be drafted to cure the apparent violation, but the judge refused as the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

had already ended. Bea won his appeal at the Board of Immigration Appeals, opining that the lower court had abused its discretion. After having his residency reinstated and accumulating the requisite physical presence, Bea petitioned for and became a

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

in 1959. He attended

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

and received his

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 ...

in 1958. He was in private practice in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

after that, but in 1990 he became a trial judge on the

San Francisco County Superior Court The Superior Court of California of the County of San Francisco is the Superior Courts of California, state superior court with jurisdiction over the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco. History Courthouse functions were incorporate ...

. He served there until his appointment to the Ninth Circuit in 2003.

Federal judicial service

Bea had previously been nominated in 1991 to be a federal district judge for the

United States District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...

by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, but he never received a vote in the Senate. Bush nominated Bea to the Ninth Circuit on April 11, 2003. 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 ...

confirmed him on September 29, 2003 by a 86–0 vote. Bea received his commission on October 1, 2003. In June 2019, Bea announced his intention to assume senior status upon the nomination, confirmation and appointment of a successor. He assumed senior status on December 12, 2019.

Personal life

His son is Olympic rower

Sebastian Bea Sebastian Bea (born April 10, 1977) is an American rower. He won a silver medal in the men's pair at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, along with Ted Murphy, and is a 1999 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley Th ...

. The Bea family lived in the historic Casebolt House (built ) in Cow Hollow, San Francisco.

References

External links

* *
U.S. Department of Justice ProfilePress Release from the Ninth Circuit Announcing Bea's Investiture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bea, Carlos Tiburcio 1934 births Living people American people of Basque descent Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Cuban emigrants to the United States Hispanic and Latino American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Naturalized citizens of the United States Olympic basketball players for Cuba People from San Sebastián Spanish emigrants to Cuba Stanford Law School alumni Superior court judges in the United States United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush Stanford University alumni Hispanic and Latino American lawyers

Biography

Federal judicial service

Personal life

See also

References

External links