Patti B. Saris
Patti Saris | |
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Chairperson of the United States Sentencing Commission | |
Assumed office December 22, 2010 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | William Sessions |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts | |
Assumed office January 1, 2013 | |
Preceded by | Mark Wolf |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts | |
Assumed office November 24, 1993 | |
Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Walter Skinner |
Personal details | |
Born |
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | July 20, 1951
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Patti B. Saris (born July 20, 1951) is the Chief United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She joined the court in 1993 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. She is also Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.[1]
Early life and education
Saris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Radcliffe College in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.
Legal career
Saris was a law clerk for the Honorable Robert Braucher, of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1976-77. She was in private practice with the law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot in Boston from 1977–79, served as Staff counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1979–81, and then returned to private practice with the firm of Berman, Dittmar & Engel, P.C. during 1981 to 1982.
Saris then served as Assistant U.S. Attorney of the District of Massachusetts from 1982 to 1986. She was Chief of the Civil Division from 1984 to 1986. From 1986-89 she was a U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was an Associate Justice in the Trial Court of Massachusetts, Superior Court Department from 1989 to 1993.
Federal Judicial Career
On the recommendation of Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, Saris was nominated as a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President Bill Clinton on October 27, 1993, to a seat vacated by Walter Jay Skinner. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 1993, and received her commission on November 24, 1993. She became Chief Judge on January 1, 2013.
United States Sentencing Commission
In April 2010, President Obama nominated Saris as Commissioner and Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. She was confirmed by the Senate on December 22, 2010 and sworn in by Justice Elena Kagan on February 16, 2011. [2]
References
- ↑ "Saris to Chair United States Sentencing Commission" (PDF). United States Sentencing Commission. December 23, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ↑ "President Obama Nominates Two United States Sentencing Commission". The White House. April 28, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- Patti B. Saris at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Legal offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Walter Skinner |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts 1993–present |
Incumbent |
Preceded by Mark Wolf |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts 2013–present | |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by William Sessions |
Chairperson of the Sentencing Commission 2010–present |
Incumbent |