P. Casey Pitts

Northern District of California
	Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 14
	Judges: 14
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Richard Seeborg
	Active judges: Vince Girdhari Chhabria, Edward J. Davila, James Donato, Beth Labson Freeman, Haywood Stirling Gilliam Jr., Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Eumi Lee, Rita Lin, Araceli Martinez-Olguin, P. Casey Pitts, Jacqueline Scott Corley, Richard Seeborg, Trina Thompson, Jon S. Tigar; Senior judges:; William Alsup, Saundra Armstrong, Charles Breyer, Edward Chen, Maxine Chesney, Phyllis Hamilton, Thelton Henderson, Susan Illston, William Orrick III, Jeffrey White, Claudia Wilken

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: P. Casey Pitts
	Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Progress
	Confirmed 281 days after nomination.
	Nominated: September 6, 2022
	ABA Rating: Qualified by a majority/Well Qualified by a minority
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: December 13, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: February 9, 2023
	Confirmed: June 14, 2023
	Vote: 53-46

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P. Casey Pitts is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on January 23, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 14, 2023, by a vote of 53-46.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California 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 joining the court, Pitts was a partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP.^[6]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Northern District of California (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 6, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated P. Casey Pitts to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.^[1]

Pitts' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[7] The president renominated Pitts on January 23, 2023.^[3] Pitts received commission on July 5, 2023.^[5] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Pitts by a vote of 53-46 on June 14, 2023.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Pitts confirmation vote (June 14, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	0
Republican	2	46	1
Independent	3	0	1
Total	53	46	1

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Pitts' nomination on December 13, 2022. Pitts' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[8]

The president renominated Pitts on January 23, 2023.^[3] In a committee hearing on February 9, 2023, Pitts was reported to the full Senate, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[4] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee hearing.

Nomination

On September 6, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated P. Casey Pitts to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.^[1]

Pitts' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[9] The president renominated Pitts on January 23, 2023.^[3]

P. Casey Pitts was nominated to replace Judge Lucy H. Koh, was elevated to become a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Koh was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 13, 2021.^[1]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Pitts Qualified by a majority/Well Qualified by a minority.^[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Mr. Pitts earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2008 and his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 2003.

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of California
2017-2023: Partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP
2009-2017: Associate at Altshuler Berzon LLP
2008-2009: Law clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit^[1]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is one of 94 United States district courts. It is headquartered in San Francisco, with courthouses in Oakland, San Jose, and Eureka. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Northern District of California (click for larger map)

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

There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Oakland Division, covering Alameda and Contra Costa counties.^[11]

The San Francisco Division, covering Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma counties.^[11]

The San Jose Division, covering Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.^[11]

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.