Marilyn Patel
Marilyn Hall Patel was a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She joined the court in 1980 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter. Patel assumed senior status on October 30, 2009 and retired from the court on September 30, 2012.[1][2]
Education
Patel graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois with her bachelor's degree in 1959 and later graduated from Fordham University School of Law with her J.D. degree in 1963.[1]
Professional career
Patel began her career as a private practice attorney licensed in the State of New York from 1963 to 1967. Patel served as a staff attorney for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in San Francisco from 1967 to 1971. Patel then worked in private practice in California from 1971 to 1976, and taught as an adjunct professor of law at the University of California-San Francisco's Hastings College of Law from 1974 to 1976. Patel served as a municipal court judge for the Municipal Court of the Oakland-Piedmont Judicial District from 1976 to 1980.[1]
Judicial career
Northern District of California
Patel was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 9, 1980, to a seat vacated by Judge Lloyd Hudson Burke. Patel was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 26, 1980, and received commission on June 30, 1980. Patel served as chief judge of the Northern District of California from 1997 to 2004.[1]
Noteworthy cases
MPAA cartel case
Judge Patel on January 8, 2009, ruled against allegations from Real Networks, Inc. that the Motion Picture Association of America has engaged in a practice of price cartels for motion picture videos. Real Networks claims that the price fixing scheme inhibited their ability to stop piracy of DVD's. Patel found that Real Network's allegations did not had merit as she found that the electronics company allowing software piracy not the Motion Picture Association of America was a reason for higher prices for DVD's.[3]
Palin 2012
In October 2009, Patel ruled that part of the sign ordinance of the City of San Carlos is an unconstitutional abridgement of free speech rights under the First Amendment. The lawsuit, filed by a plaintiff who wants to erect a "Palin for President 2012" sign along Highway 101 in San Carlos, contended that the city's sign ordinance gives greater latitude to commercial signs than to political signs both by restricting their size and by saying that such signs can only be erected from 60 days before an election to 7 days after an election.[4]
In her decision, Patel said the city's sign ordinance appears to have to granted government officials "unfettered discretion to determine who may or may not speak by failing to impose sufficient objective standards and by allowing for an unlimited time for the city's review."[4]
California Foster Kids
On November 4, 2009, Judge Patel presided in a case involving the State of California. The judge ordered the State from cutting reimbursement for foster group homes by ten percent to solve a budget shortfall. As part of the ruling, it is considered a temporary restraining order against the State of California from making funding cuts.[5]
See also
External links
- Judge Patel's Homepage at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (dead link)
- Judge Patel's Biography at the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Judge Patel's Biography at the Federal Judicial Center
- ↑ United States Courts, "Judicial Milestones," January 7, 2012
- ↑ Wired, "Judge Slams MPAA ‘Cartel’ Allegations," January 11, 2010
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mercury News, "Judge's ruling may allow a big 'Palin for President 2012' sign to rise in San Carlos," October 22, 2009
- ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Federal Judge Gives Foster Kids a Break," November 5, 2009
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by: Lloyd Hudson Burke |
Northern District of California 1980–2009 Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: Edward J. Davila
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| 1977 |
Ballantine • Bownes • Boyle • Bua • Carr • Clark • Cowan • Daly • Filippine • Higginbotham • Hoeveler • Hug • Johnstone • Kane • Keith • Leval • Logan • MacLaughlin • McKay • Melton • Merritt • Murphy • Nickerson • Oberdorfer • Roszkowski • Roy • Rubin • Sifton • Tang • Vance • Veron | ||
| 1978 |
Arnold • Baker • Boyle • Burns • Campos • Claiborne • Collins • Cook • Devine • Diamond • Duplantier • Edenfield • Friedman • Gonzalez • Greene • Jenkins • Lowe • Mazzone • McMillian • O'Brien • Pfaelzer • Phillips • Pollak • Sand • Shapiro • Simmons • Smith • Sweet • Tanner • Wiseman • Ziegler | ||
| 1979 |
Ackerman • Alarcon • Anderson • Arceneaux • Arnold • Aspen • Beatty • Beer • Belew • Bertelsman • Bilby • N. Black • S. Black • Bloch • Bowen • Brett • Brooks • Brown • Buchmeyer • Bunton • Burciaga • Cabranes • Carr • Carrigan • Castagna • Cire • Clark • Cohn • Conaboy • Cordova • Crabb • Cudahy • Davis • DeAnda • Debevoise • Edwards • Eginton • Ellison • Enslen • O. Evans • T. Evans • Farris • Ferguson • Fletcher • Frye • Garcia • Garza • B. Gibson • H. Gibson • Gierbolini-Ortiz • Giles • Gilliam • Green • Hall • Hastings • Hatchett • Hatfield • Hatter • Hawkins • Henderson • Higby • Hillman • Houck • Howard • Hudspeth • Hungate • F. Johnson • S. Johnson • N. Jones • S. Jones • Karlton • Kazen • Kearse • Keeton • Kehoe • Kennedy • Kidd • King • Kravitch • Loughlin • Martin • McCurn • McDonald • McNaught • McNichols • Mikva • Mitchell • Moran • Murnaghan • Murphy • D. Nelson • D.W. Nelson • Newblatt • Newman • Overton • Paine • Panner • J. Parker • R. Parker • Penn • Perez-Gimenez • Perry • Politz • Poole • Porter • Pregerson • Price • Rambo • Ramirez • Reavley • Redden • E. Reed • S. Reed • Reinhardt • Renner • Robinson • Rothstein • Sachs • Saffels • Sanders • Sarokin • Schroeder • Schwartz • Seay • Senter • Seymour • Shannon • Shaw • Shoob • Skopil • Sloviter • Sofaer • Spellman • Sprouse • Staker • Tate • Taylor • Thompson • Tidwell • Unthank • Vietor • Vining • Wald • Ward • Weinshienk • West • Wicker • Williams • Winder • Woods • Wright • Zobel | ||
| 1980 |
Aguilar • Aldrich • Anderson • Boochever • Breyer • Britt • Cahill • Canby • Carroll • Cerezo • Clemon • S. Ervin • R. Erwin • Getzendanner • Gilmore • Ginsburg • Haltom • Hardy • Henderson • Hobbs • Holschuh • Horton • Howard • Johnson • Keep • Kelly • Kenyon • Kocoras • Marquez • Marshall • Michael • Nixon • Norris • Patel • Polozola • Propst • Quackenbush • Ramsey • Rice • Shadur • Spiegel • Tashima • Thompson • Vela • White • Williams | ||
| 1981 | |||
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State of California Sacramento (capital) |
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