Irene Cornelia Berger (born September 27, 1954) 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 Southern District of West Virginia The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (in case citations, S.D. W. Va.) is a federal court in the Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which ar ...

Early life and education

A native of

Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, ...

in McDowell County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

,Lawrence Smith
Manchin already seeking replacement for Berger
''

West Virginia Record The ''West Virginia Record,'' founded in 2005, is a weekly legal publication funded by the United States Chamber of Commerce, the largest lobbyist group in the United States, and distributed in the state of West Virginia. The Record is a product o ...

'' (September 17, 2009). Berger graduated from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

in 1976 with a

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 yea ...

degree in mathematics and from

West Virginia University College of Law The West Virginia University College of Law is the professional school for the study of law at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The law school was established in 1878 as the first professional school in the s ...

with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

in 1979.President Obama Nominates Irene Berger, Roberto Lange to Serve on the District Court Bench
''whitehouse.gov'' (July 8, 2009).

Career

After graduating from law school, Berger worked as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Charleston, where her clients largely were low-income individuals facing domestic, consumer and tenant-landlord disputes. She held that position from June 1979 until January 1982. In February 1982, Berger became assistant prosecuting attorney for

Kanawha County Kanawha County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charleston, which is also the state capital. Kanawha Coun ...

. She held that position for more than 12 years. In May 1994, Berger joined the United States Attorney's office for the Southern District of West Virginia as an

assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...

. In July 1994, West Virginia Gov.

Gaston Caperton William Gaston Caperton III (born February 21, 1940) is an American politician who served as the 31st Governor of West Virginia from 1989 to 1997. He was president of the College Board, which administers the nationally recognized SAT and AP tes ...

appointed Berger to be a

circuit judge.

Federal judicial service

On July 8, 2009, Berger was nominated by 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 (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

to serve as a United States District Judge of the

, to replace

David A. Faber David Alan Faber (born October 21, 1942) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Education and career Feber was born in Charleston, West Virginia. He graduated f ...

, 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 ...

. The

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

confirmed Berger on October 27, 2009, by a 97–0 vote. She received her commission on November 9, 2009. She is the first African-American female federal judge in West Virginia's history.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Irene 1954 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges African-American judges Assistant United States Attorneys County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia People from Kanawha County, West Virginia People from McDowell County, West Virginia United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama West Virginia circuit court judges West Virginia lawyers West Virginia University alumni West Virginia University College of Law alumni 20th-century African-American lawyers 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers

Early life and education

Career

Federal judicial service

See also

References

External links