Susan Richard Nelson

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Susan Richard Nelson
	Court: District of Minnesota
Progress
	Confirmed 240 days after nomination.
	Nominated: April 21, 2010
	ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: May 13, 2010
	QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: June 10, 2010
	Confirmed: December 17, 2010
	Vote: Voice vote

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Susan Richard Nelson is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. She was nominated to the court by Barack Obama (D) and was confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 2013.

Nelson assumed senior status on December 31, 2021.^[1]

Early life and education

Judge Nelson was born in 1952. She received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College in 1974 and her J.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1978. She is married to Tom Nelson and they have two sons.^[2]

Professional career

1984-2000: Private Practice, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., Minneapolis, Minnesota
1980-1983: Private Practice, Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn, New Haven, Connecticut
1978-1980: Private Practice, Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania^[2]^[3]^[4]

Judicial career

District of Minnesota (2013-present)

Nelson was recommended to President Obama for a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar on November 3, 2009.^[5] On April 21, 2010, Obama nominated Nelson to the court for the seat vacated by James Rosenbaum.^[6] Nelson's nomination was confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 2010.^[3] She assumed senior status on December 31, 2021.^[7]

Klobuchar said of the nomination: "I was honored to recommend Susan Richard Nelson to President Obama based on her unique depth and breadth of legal experience, and I’m pleased that the President officially nominated her today. Susan Richard Nelson has the integrity, intellect, and temperament to be an excellent federal judge. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will work hard to ensure her swift confirmation."^[8]

Nelson was unanimously rated Well Qualified by the American Bar Association.^[9]

Judiciary Committee hearing

Nelson had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 13, 2010. She was introduced by Senator Amy Klobuchar, who said she "has the judicial temperament, personal integrity, and keen legal mind that are absolute prerequisites for excellent judges."^[10] Nelson was reported by committee on June 10, 2010 and confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 2010. Nelson then received commission on December 22.^[3]^[11]

District of Minnesota magistrate judge (2000-2013)

Nelson was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.^[12] She joined the court in 2000 and was reappointed on June 1, 2008.^[13] She served in this position from June of 2000 until her confirmation to the federal bench.^[3]^[5]

Noteworthy cases

Retired NFL players suit against NFLPA (2012)

See also: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (Eller v. National Football Association Player Association, Civil No. 11-2623 (SRN/JJG).)

Minnesota: Retired NFL players have filed with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to appeal the decision of US District Judge Susan Richard Nelson to dismiss their suit against the NFL Players Association. The original suit was dismissed by Judge Nelson on May 29 in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.^[14]
The group is led by Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller, and claim that retired players lost money during last summer’s collective bargaining negotiations between the NFLPA and team owners.^[15] Eller claims that the retirees were shoved out of the negotiation process to streamline the talks.^[14]
Judge Nelson dismissed the original suit, ruling that the retired players had no legal right to the hundreds of millions of dollars in additional post-career benefits they claimed to have lost due to the lockout negotiations the previous year. In the decision, Judge Nelson wrote that she accepted the factual basis of the retirees’ claims, but disagreed that the current players had acted illegally during the negotiations.^[16]