Senate confirms California State Bar Court judge to federal judgeship

State Bar Court Judge Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon was confirmed by a 49-47 U.S. Senate vote on Tuesday to be a federal judge on the Central District of California.

The vote on President Joe Biden's nominee was divided along partisan lines. The Senate voted 50-49 last month to cut off debate on her nomination, with no Republican supporting cloture and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-WV, not voting.

A 1995 graduate of UCLA School of Law, Valenzuela Dixon was national head of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) from 2006 to 2011 and was appointed as a State Bar Court judge in 2016 by the California Supreme Court. She also worked as a supervising attorney for the Central District and was a federal prosecutor from 1998 to 2006, first in the Department of Justice's civil rights division in Washington, D.C., and then in the Central District U.S. attorney's office.

Valenzuela Dixon will fill the vacancy of U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, an appointee of President George W. Bush who retired in October and joined JAMS last month.

During her nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-UT, asked Valenzuela Dixon about her work at MALDEF and cases the organization handled.

Central District Chief Judge Dolly M. Gee, who announced that Valenzuela will have chambers in Los Angeles, hailed her confirmation.

"We are pleased to welcome Judge Valenzuela back to the court and we look forward to having her as a colleague," Gee wrote in a statement. "She brings a wealth of experience and will be a wonderful addition to our court."

Last week, the Senate voted 48-43 to confirm Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anne Hwang, another Biden nominee, to another Central District vacancy. The nomination of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Noel Wise for a Northern District of California vacancy is awaiting a Senate floor vote.

Two other Biden nominees - U.S. Magistrate Judge Benjamin J. Cheeks of San Diego, nominated for a Southern District vacancy; and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Serena R. Murillo, picked for a Central District vacancy - are scheduled for votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Senate Democrats struck a deal last month allowing the nominations of several of Biden's district court nominees - including Valenzuela Dixon, Hwang and Wise - to move forward without as many procedural roadblocks from Republicans in exchange for Democrats dropping four circuit court nominees that they said they did not have the votes to confirm.

Democrats have until Jan. 3 to confirm Biden's outstanding judicial nominations, when Republicans will take control of the Senate following their victories in the Nov. 5 elections, ending a four-year run during which Democrats controlled the chamber by a narrow margin.

Biden's nomination of San Diego County Superior Court Judge Rebecca S. Kanter for a Southern District vacancy was dropped. That vacancy will be filled by President-elect Donald Trump.