Bernice Donald

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Bernice Bouie Donald
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 279 days after nomination.
	Nominated: December 1, 2010
	ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
	Questionnaire:
	Hearing: March 16, 2011
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: May 9, 2011
	Confirmed: September 6, 2011
	Vote: 96-2
	Returned: December 22, 2010

Bernice Bouie Donald was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. She first joined the court in 2011 after a nomination from President Barack Obama (D). She assumed senior status on September 27, 2022, and retired from the court on January 20, 2023. Prior to her service on the Sixth Circuit, she served on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Biography

Education

Donald graduated from Memphis State University with both her bachelor's and J.D. degrees in 1974 and 1979, respectively.^[3]

Professional career

2011-2023: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
- 2022-2023: Senior judge
- 2011-2022: Judge
1995-2011: Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
1988-1995: Judge, United States bankruptcy court, Western District of Tennessee
1985-1988: Adjunct professor, Memphis State University, Humphreys College of Law
1982-1988: Judge, General Sessions Criminal Court, State of Tennessee
1981-1984: Adjunct professor, Shelby State Community College
1980-1982: Assistant public defender, Shelby County Public Defender's Office, Tennessee
1980: Staff attorney, Employment Law & Economic Development Unit, Memphis Area Legal Services, Tennessee
1979-1980: Private practice, Memphis, Tenn.^[3]

Judicial career

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Donald was first nominated on December 1, 2010, by President Barack Obama to fill the seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit vacated by Judge Ronald Gilman. The American Bar Association rated Donald Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination.^[5]^[6] Under Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the standing rules of the Senate, Donald's nomination was returned to the president on December 22, 2010. President Obama resubmitted Donald's nomination on January 5, 2011. Hearings on Donald's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 16, 2011, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on May 9, 2011. Donald was confirmed on a recorded 96-2 vote of the U.S. Senate on September 6, 2011, and she received her commission on September 8, 2011.^[3]^[7]^[8]

Western District of Tennessee

Donald was nominated by President Bill Clinton on December 7, 1995, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee to a seat vacated by Judge Odell Horton. The American Bar Association rated Donald Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified for the nomination.^[9] Hearings on Donald's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 19, 1995, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on December 21, 1995. Donald was confirmed on a voice vote of the United States Senate on December 22, 1995, and she received her commission on December 26, 1995. She resigned from the district court on September 8, 2011, upon her elevation to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She was succeeded in this position by Judge John T. Fowlkes.^[3]^[10]

Western District of Tennessee, Bankruptcy Court

Donald began her federal judicial career as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Western District of Tennessee from 1988 to 1995.^[3]

Noteworthy cases

SCOTUS reverses Sixth Circuit; holds circuit court lacked authority to reach merits of defaulted claim (2017)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (Jenkins v. Hutton)

On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily reversed the judgment of a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Jenkins v. Hutton. Judge Bernice Donald wrote the opinion of the panel.

Convicted in state court and having exhausted his state appeals, Hutton filed for federal habeas relief, arguing that the jury was improperly instructed by the trial judge in his state trial. The federal district court denied Hutton's claim, holding that Hutton failed to raise this claim during his state appeals and, therefore, the claim was procedurally defaulted. In an opinion by Judge Bernice Donald, the Sixth Circuit reversed, holding that the court could reach the merits of Hutton's defaulted claim to avoid a fundamental miscarriage of justice.

A unanimous Supreme Court summarily reversed the Sixth Circuit's ruling in a per curiam opinion, holding that, on the facts of this case, the Sixth Circuit was wrong to rule that the court could review Hutton’s claim under the miscarriage of justice exception to procedural default.^[11]