Katherine Menendez

District of Minnesota
	Eighth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 7
	Judges: 6
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: Patrick Schiltz
	Active judges: ; Jerry Blackwell, Nancy E. Brasel, Jeffrey M. Bryan, Katherine M. Menendez, Patrick Schiltz, Eric Tostrud; Senior judges:; Donald Alsop, Michael James Davis, David Doty, Joan Ericksen, Donovan Frank, Paul Magnuson, Ann Montgomery, Susan Richard Nelson, John Tunheim, Wilhelmina M. Wright

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Katherine Menendez
	Court: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Progress
	Confirmed 89 days after nomination.
	Nominated: September 20, 2021
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: November 3, 2021
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: December 2, 2021
	Confirmed: December 18, 2021
	Vote: 49-21

Katherine M. Menendez is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on September 20, 2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18, 2021, by a vote of 49-21.^[1]^[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to her nomination, Menendez was a federal magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. She was appointed on April 28, 2016.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (2021-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 20, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Menendez to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. She was confirmed by a 49-21 vote of the U.S. Senate on December 18, 2021. She received commission on December 21, 2021.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Menendez by a vote of 49-21 on December 18, 2021.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Menendez confirmation vote (December 18, 2021)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	42	0	6
Republican	6	21	23
Independent	1	0	1
Total	49	21	30

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Menendez's nomination on November 3, 2021. The committee voted to advance Menendez's nomination to the full Senate on December 2, 2021.

Nomination

On September 8, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Menendez to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.^[2] The president officially nominated Menendez on September 20.^[1]

Menendez was nominated to replace Judge Joan Ericksen, who assumed senior status on October 15, 2019.^[4]

The American Bar Association rated Menendez Well qualified with two recusals.^[5] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Bildung

Menendez earned a B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1993 and a J.D. from New York University Law School in 1996.^[2]

Professional career

2021-present: Judge, District of Minnesota
2016-2021: Federal magistrate judge, District of Minnesota
1997-2016: Office of the Federal Defender, District of Minnesota
- 1999-2016: Assistant federal defender
- 1997-1999: Fellow
1996-1997: Law clerk, Hon. Samuel Ervin, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals^[2]

About the court

The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is one of 94 United States district courts. It was established by an act of Congress on March 17, 1849. The main headquarters of the court is based in Minneapolis at the Warren E. Berger Federal Building and Courthouse along with other locations in Saint Paul, Duluth, and Fergus Falls. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse and Building.

Minnesota counties (click for larger map)

The District of Minnesota has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The jurisdiction of the District of Minnesota consists of all the counties in the state of Minnesota.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.