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The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro to a lifetime appointment to the San Diego federal bench.
Montenegro, who has served as the sole magistrate judge in Imperial County since 2018, was confirmed by a 55-41 vote. She is the third nominee of President Joe Biden to be installed on the Southern District of California court. The Southern District serves San Diego and Imperial counties.
Chief Judge Dana Sabraw welcomed the addition to the court, which handled 5,842 new filings last year. Montenegro takes the spot left open by District Judge John Houston, who went on senior status in 2018. The court is still four judges short of operating a full 13-judge bench.
“She is a terrific judge and an exceptional person,” Sabraw said in a statement. “Her collegiality, warm and engaging personality, and wonderful sense of humor, will make her a great and much needed addition to our very busy court, which last year had the fourth most criminal case filings in the nation.”
Montenegro was born in Brawley. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and earned her law degree from the UCLA School of Law.
She began her legal career in 1993 at a Southern California law firm — Horton, Knox, Carter & Foote, LLP. She has worked as a legal advisor and attorney representing the Imperial County government and also managed human resources programs at El Centro Elementary School and the Imperial Community College District.
Montenegro has also served as an Imperial County Superior Court judge — the first Latina in the history of the county to do so. And before that, she was the first woman to serve as the court’s family support commissioner.
“The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Judge Montenegro is the second Latina nominated to the Southern District California by President Biden,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said in a statement. “Her confirmation marks another step toward building a federal judiciary that better reflects and understands the country it serves.”
Fellow California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary, said Montenegro’s “extensive judicial experience and lifelong connection and dedication to the community of the Imperial Valley will greatly benefit the Southern District.”
The Senate confirmed Biden’s first two picks — Judges Linda Lopez and Jinsook Ohta — late last year. A fourth nominee, former federal prosecutor Robert Huie, recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and is awaiting its approval to be considered by the full Senate.
Three additional nominees have yet to be named.
Source: This post first appeared on sandiegouniontribune.com
