United States District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston was appointed to the Eastern District of California by President Joseph R. Biden in 2021. She was nominated on September 12, 2021, to a seat vacated by the Hon. Lawrence J. O'Neill, confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 2021, and received her commission on December 27, 2021. She had previously served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the district beginning December 31, 2009.
Judge Thurston has presided over countless bench and jury trials and manages scores of civil cases, social security appeals, habeas corpus petitions, and prisoner civil rights actions. Before her federal appointments, she was an active litigator at the Kern County Counsel's Office, handling civil rights cases, wrongful death actions, elections law challenges, and employment disputes. She became a Certified Appellate Specialist in 2005 and handled more than 100 appeals and writs in the Ninth Circuit, the Fifth District Court of Appeal, and the California Supreme Court.
Education
- Duke University, Master of Laws, 2018
- California Pacific School of Law, J.D., 1997
- California State University, Bakersfield, B.S. Business Administration (Marketing), 1989
Career
- 2009–2021: United States Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of California
- 2007–2009: Judge Pro Tem, Kern County Superior Court, Bakersfield, CA
- 1997–2009: Deputy County Counsel, Office of the Kern County Counsel, Bakersfield, CA