Gabriel Patrick Sanchez (born 1976) is an American lawyer who has served as a United States circuit judge 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 ...

since 2022. He served as an associate judge of the

California Court of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

from 2018 to 2022.

Early life and education

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

native, Sanchez graduated from

Harvard-Westlake School Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school in Los Angeles, California, with about 1,600 students in grades seven through twelve. The school has two campuses: the middle school campus in Holmby ...

in 1994. He 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 ...

, ''cum laude'', from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1998. He was a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

in 1999 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina, and in 2000 he received a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

in European Studies from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. From 2000 to 2002, he worked for

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

as a business analyst. He then attended

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, graduating in 2005 with 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 ...

Legal career

Sanchez 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

Richard Paez Richard Anthony Paez (born May 5, 1947) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Early life and education Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Paez received his Bachelor of Arts degree fro ...

of the

from 2005 to 2006. He was an associate at

Munger, Tolles & Olson Munger, Tolles, & Olson LLP (MTO) is an American law firm founded in 1962 with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. The firm is known for handling litigation and corporate matters across multiple industries, including entert ...

from 2006 to 2011, where he litigated civil matters at the trial and appellate levels. From 2011 to 2012, he worked as a deputy attorney general in the correctional law section of the

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...

's office. From 2012 to 2018, he worked as Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary under

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 ...

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

. Sanchez helped draft the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016. The act allowed certain non-violent defendants to be considered for parole and established sentence credits for rehabilitation, good behavior, and education.

Judicial career

State judicial service

In October 2018, Sanchez was nominated by Governor Brown to serve as an

Associate Judge An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some st ...

of the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Robert L. Dondero. His nomination was confirmed by the

California Commission on Judicial Appointments The California Commission on Judicial Appointments is a body of the government of California established in its current form in 1979 that is responsible for reviewing and confirming justices appointed by the Governor of California to the Supreme Cou ...

on November 26, 2018. His service on the state court terminated when he was elevated to the court of appeals.

Federal judicial service

On September 8, 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 ...

announced his intent to nominate Sanchez to serve as a United States circuit judge 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: * District ...

. On September 20, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Sanchez to the seat to be vacated by Judge

Marsha Berzon Marsha Lee Berzon ( Siegel; born April 17, 1945) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Education and legal training Berzon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe ...

, who announced her intent to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. On November 3, 2021, a hearing on his 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 ...

. During his confirmation hearing, Republican senators questioned him about his role in the creation of Proposition 57 in 2016, which allowed for earlier parole for most inmates in California. On December 2, 2021, his nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–10 vote. On December 15, 2021, Majority Leader

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

filed

cloture Cloture (, ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. is ...

on his nomination. On December 18, 2021, 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 ...

invoked cloture on his nomination by a 44–24 vote. On January 12, 2022, Sanchez was confirmed by a 52–47 vote. He received his judicial commission on January 24, 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Gabriel P. 1976 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers Alumni of the University of Cambridge California lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Hispanic and Latino American judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Judges of the California Courts of Appeal People associated with Munger, Tolles & Olson People from Fullerton, California United States court of appeals judges appointed by Joe Biden Yale College alumni Yale Law School alumni