Ruth Bermudez Montenegro (née Ruth Parra Bermudez, born 1967) is an American lawyer who has served as 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 Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ap ...

since 2022. 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 conduct ...

of the same court from 2018 to 2022.

Education

Montenegro received her

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

, with honors, from

Imperial Valley College Imperial Valley College is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Imperial County, California. It was founded in 1962 and enrolls around 7,000 students per year. The main campus is located on a si ...

in 1987, her

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 ...

, ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'', from

Clarion University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion (PennWest Clarion, formerly Clarion University of Pennsylvania) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Clarion, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was founded in 1867 and offers as ...

in 1989 and her

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 the

UCLA School of Law The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. History Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...

Career

Montenegro was previously an attorney at Horton, Knox, Carter & Foote, LLP in

El Centro El Centro ( Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the most populous city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the co ...

from 1993 to 2000. She then served as assistant superintendent for

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

and administrative services for the El Centro Elementary School District in

Imperial County Imperial County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, ranking as the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat and largest city is ...

from 2002 to 2011 and served as Director of Human Resources for

from 2000 to 2002. She was assistant county counsel for Imperial County from 2011 to 2012 and also served as a deputy county counsel IV in 2000.

Judicial career

State judicial service

From 2012 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2018, Montenegro served as a judge on the Imperial County Superior Court in California. She served as the Imperial County Superior Court's Family Support Commissioner from 2013 to 2015.

Federal judicial service

United States magistrate judge tenure

She was appointed 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 conduct ...

for the

on August 15, 2018. Her service as a magistrate terminated on March 30, 2022 when she was commissioned as a district judge.

District court service

On November 3, 2021, 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 ...

nominated Montenegro to serve as a

of the

. President Biden nominated Montenegro to the seat vacated by Judge John A. Houston, who assumed senior status on February 6, 2018. On December 15, 2021, 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 January 3, 2022, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of 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 ...

; she was later renominated the same day. On January 20, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 14–8 vote. On March 16, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 57–42 vote. On March 22, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 55–41 vote. She received her judicial commission on March 30, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montenegro, Ruth Bermudez 1967 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges California state court judges Clarion University of Pennsylvania alumni Hispanic and Latino American judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California People from Brawley, California Superior court judges in the United States UCLA School of Law alumni United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden United States magistrate judges