Kimberly J. Mueller

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Kimberly Jo Mueller (born September 17, 1957) is an American jurist who is a retired United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California . She was the first female district judge to serve in the Eastern District.

Magistrate portrait

Contents

• 1 Education

• 2 Career

  • 2.1 Political career

  • 2.2 Legal career

  • 2.3 Federal judicial service

  • 2.4 Notable cases

• 3 Post-Judicial Career

• 4 See also

• 5 References

• 6 External links

Education

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Mueller obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College in 1981, and a Juris Doctor from Stanford University in 1995.

Career

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Political career

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Mueller served as an extern for California State Assemblyman Lloyd Connelly . After moving to Sacramento 's Tahoe Park neighborhood, Mueller was elected to the Sacramento City Council , where she served from 1987 through 1992.

While on the council, Mueller was selected to serve as Vice-Mayor and chair of the city's budget committee. She also led a successful effort with then-Mayor Anne Rudin to introduce campaign finance reform to the city's politics.

Legal career

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Mueller left her position on the Sacramento City Council in 1992 to attend Stanford Law School . After graduation, she worked for five years at the Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe , and later opened her own private practice.

In 2003, Mueller was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge of the Sacramento division of United States District Court for the Eastern District of California , becoming just the second woman to hold this position since the Eastern District was established in 1966.

Mueller was formerly an adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and UC Davis School of Law .

In January 2026, Mueller joined the faculty of Duke Law School as a professor of the practice and director of the Bolch Judicial Institute.

Federal judicial service

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On March 10, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Mueller to serve as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California . Her nomination was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on December 16, 2010. Mueller received her commission on December 21, 2010. She became chief judge of the Eastern District of California on January 1, 2020. She assumed senior status on September 17, 2024, retiring on January 4, 2026.

Notable cases

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On February 25, 2015, Mueller upheld California's Unsafe Handgun Act (also known as the handgun roster) as constitutional. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the opinion on August 3, 2018.

On April 17, 2015, Mueller held that criminal defendants charged with marijuana-related crimes had standing to bring a constitutional challenge to marijuana's Schedule I status, but ultimately rejected Defendants' constitutional arguments.

On December 21, 2015, Mueller rejected a First Amendment challenge, filed by crisis pregnancy centers, to California's law requiring them to provide notice to clients regarding the availability of abortions and contraception. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision, but the Supreme Court reversed it.

On December 29, 2022, Mueller upheld as constitutional California's ban on openly carrying handguns. The Ninth Circuit reversed the decision on June 29, 2023 saying Mueller "applied the incorrect legal standard" to the case, remanding back to District Court.

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