Claudia Wilken

Claudia Wilken
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Current Court Information:
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Title:	Chief Judge
Position:	Seat #14
Service:
Appointed by:	Bill Clinton
Active:	11/22/1993 - Present
Chief:	8/31/2012 - Present
Preceded by:	104 Stat. 5089
Personal History
Born:	1949
Home State:	Minneapolis, MN
Bachelors:	Stanford U., B.A., 1971
Law School:	U. of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 1975

Claudia Ann Wilken is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She joined the Court in 1993 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. She became the chief judge of the court on August 31, 2012.

Early life and education

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wilken graduated from Stanford University with her Bachelor's degree in 1971 and received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California-Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law in 1975.

Professional career

Wilken was a Staff Attorney for the Federal Public Defender's Office for the Northern District of California from 1975 to 1978 before entering private practice in the State of California from until 1984. Wilken served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of California Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law from 1978 to 1984 and also taught as a Professor at the New College School of Law from 1980 to 1985.

Judicial career

Northern District of California

Wilken was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 1983 to 1993.

Wilken was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California by President Bill Clinton on October 7, 1993 to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089, which was approved by Congress. Wilken was confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 1993 on a Senate vote and received commission on November 22, 1993.

Notable cases

California IHSS cuts blocked

United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Judge Wilken, on October 19, 2009, issued a order to the State of California to halt cuts to the In-Home Supportive Services program that were scheduled to take effect on November 1, 2009. The judge found the state's timing towards the cuts gave too little notice to care providers and recipients of the IHSS program and did not give a proper framework for appeals.

EA Sports copyright

United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Judge Wilken is presiding in the highly publicized case involving Electronic Arts franchise EA Sports as the well known brand is being sued over the likeness of college athletes used in video games like NCAA Football 2010. The suit is on track to qualify for class-action status after three years on ongoing litigation. The athletes are suing the technology company over unfairly using the likenesses of college athletes in its games without compensation. In response to emails suggesting that EA Sports does use actual athletes' likenesses, a spokesman said, "Discovery and the plaintiffs' own depositions clearly indicate that the NCAA never marketed student-athlete likeness nor prohibited student-athletes from profiting from their likeness when their eligibility was completed."

Home Care Wage Hold Injunction Clarification

United States District Court for the Northern District of California      *Martinez v. Schwarzenegger USDC, NDCA Case No. C-09-02306 CW (NDCA, July, 2009)

* CaliforniaProgressReport.com Sources Judge Wilken Injunction Order in Martinez v. Schwarzenegger In June of 2009 Judge Wilken blocked a $2-an-hour wage cut for tens of thousands of in-home care workers for elderly and disabled Californians which was ordered by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger has cited this as an example of federal judges interfering with the rights of California to rule itself. However, some parts of the California government blocked Wilken's order and on July 13, 2009 Wilken re-ordered state officials to remove procedural obstacles immediately. Counties that include Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Napa, Solano, and Yolo are affected by the plan that temporarily reduced pay for sixty days. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Schwarzenegger administration's request for a stay of Judge Wilken's decision on July 14, 2009.

Domestic Partnership CalPiers case

United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Judge Wilken has twice denied government motions to dismiss a lawsuit against California's insurance program CalPERS and its long term care program. The lawsuit was filed by three gay and lesbian couples and includes not only CalPERS but also the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate CalPERS policy on gay and lesbian couples and domestic partnerships that bars them from access to the insurance providers long term care program. Wilkin justified her decision, writing, "Although the Supreme Court has not established that sexual orientation is a suspect or quasi-suspect class for purposes of the equal protection doctrine, it held in Romer [v. Evans] that gays and lesbians, as a class, are at least protected from burdensome legislation that is the product of sheer anti-gay animus and devoid of any legitimate government purpose." The lawsuit targets government policy within the IRS and the Treasury department which prevents access to benefits for same sex couples, including the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which the Obama administration has announced that it will no longer defend because deems it unconstitutional.

See also

• United States District Court for the Northern District of California

External links

• Judge Claudia Wilken's Federal Judicial Center Biography

References

Federal judicial offices
Preceded by: NA-New Seat	Northern District of California 1993–Current Seat #14	Succeeded by: NA