Sunshine Sykes

Sunshine Suzanne Sykes (born 1974)[1] is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a judge of the California Superior Court for Riverside County. She is the nominee to serve as a judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.[2]

Sunshine Sykes
Judge of the Riverside County Superior Court
Assumed office
December 5, 2013
Appointed byJerry Brown
Preceded byRandall White
Personal details
Born
Sunshine Suzanne Sykes

1974 (age 47–48)
Tuba City, Arizona, U.S.
EducationStanford University (BA, JD)

Early life and education

Sykes was born on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Tuba City, Arizona and was raised in Gallup, New Mexico. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1997 and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 2001.[3]

Career

From 2001 to 2003, Sykes worked as a staff attorney for California Indian Legal Services. From 2003 to 2005, she was a contract attorney for the Defense Panel at the Southwest Justice Center. She also worked for the California Department of Social Services. From 2005 to 2013, Sykes served as deputy county counsel for Riverside County, California. In 2013, she was nominated by then-Governor Jerry Brown to serve as a judge on the Riverside County Superior Court.[2][4]

Nomination to district court

On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Sykes to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. President Biden nominated Sykes to the seat vacated by Judge James V. Selna, who took senior status on March 3, 2020.[5] On February 1, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[6] On March 10, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. Her nomination is pending before the full United States Senate. If confirmed, Sykes would be the fifth American Indian ever to serve on the federal bench.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  2. "President Biden Names Eleventh Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  3. School, Stanford Law. "Taking the Stand: Judge Sunshine Sykes". Stanford Law School. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  4. Staff, Native News Online. "Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes, Navajo, Nominated for U.S. District Court". Native News Online. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  5. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. December 15, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. January 31, 2022.
  7. "Republicans Cast Second Circuit Nominee as Soft on Crime (2)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021.


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