USDC Northern District of California
Career Highlights: Appointed as U.S. district judge, Northern District of California, 2000; U.S. magistrate judge, Northern District of California, 1991-2000; court commissioner, municipal court in Oakland-Piedmont-Emeryville Judicial District, 1985-91; administrative judge, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, San Francisco Regional Office, 1980-85; deputy public defender, Office of the State Public Defender, San Francisco, 1976-80
Law School: Santa Clara University School of Law, 1976
Career Highlights: Appointed as U.S. district judge, Northern District of California, 2000; U.S. magistrate judge, Northern District of California, 1991-2000; court commissioner, municipal court in Oakland-Piedmont-Emeryville Judicial District, 1985-91; administrative judge, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, San Francisco Regional Office, 1980-85; deputy public defender, Office of the State Public Defender, San Francisco, 1976-80
Law School: Santa Clara University School of Law, 1976
Raised by her aunt in a small town in the Midwest, Senior U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton learned the importance of hard work and dedication at a young age.
"I can't remember a single period of my life when I wasn't working," reflected Hamilton. She credited much of her success to the public school teachers in her town, who she said were personally invested in each student and opened up opportunities for them.
