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Amanda Brailsford

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Amanda Brailsford
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 17, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byB. Lynn Winmill
Judge of the Idaho Court of Appeals
In office
January 2019 – May 17, 2023
Appointed byButch Otter
Preceded bySergio Gutierrez
Succeeded byMichael Tribe
Personal details
Born
Amanda Kathleen Brailsford[1]

1967 (age 56–57)
Twin Falls, Idaho, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Idaho (BA, JD)

Amanda Kathleen Brailsford (born 1967)[1] is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho. She previously served as a judge of the Idaho Court of Appeals from 2019 to 2023.

Education

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Born in Twin Falls, Idaho, Brailsford grew up in Hagerman.[2] She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Idaho in Moscow in 1989 and a Juris Doctor from its College of Law in 1993.[3][4]

Career

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Following law school, Brailsford served as a law clerk for Judge Thomas G. Nelson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1993 to 1995.[2][4] She worked at the Boise office of Holland & Hart LLP as an associate from 1995 to 2002, and as a partner from 2003 to 2013.[2][4] She was a founding partner of the law firm of Andersen Banducci PLLC from 2013 to 2017.[4]

Idaho Court of Appeals

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On November 30, 2018, Brailsford was appointed as a judge of the Idaho Court of Appeals by Governor Butch Otter to the seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Sergio Gutierrez.[5] She assumed office in 2019 and left in 2023 to become a federal judge.[2]

Notable rulings

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In 2022, Brailsford wrote the opinion for the Idaho Court of Appeals affirming an aggravated DUI conviction for Cyrus Buehler. Buehler was accused of being intoxicated while driving his pickup truck that struck a man operating a motorized bicycle.[6][7][8]

Also that year, Brailsford wrote the opinion for the court affirming Shoshone County Sheriff Darrell Gunderson's decision to deny a concealed weapons license to Robert Peterson. Gunderson disqualified Peterson due to his prior conviction of possessing material sexually exploiting children.[9][10][11]

Federal judicial service

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On January 18, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Brailsford to serve as a United States district judge of the U.S. District Court in Idaho.[4][12] On January 31, 2023, her nomination was sent to the United States Senate. President Biden nominated Brailsford to the seat vacated by Judge B. Lynn Winmill, who assumed senior status on August 16, 2021.[13] On March 22, 2023, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[14] On April 27, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote.[15][16] On May 4, 2023, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination by a voice vote.[17] Brailsford received her judicial commission on May 17, 2023,[18] and was sworn in on May 19, 2023.[19] She is the first woman to serve on the U.S. District Court in Idaho.[20]

Notable cases

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In Creech v. United States District Court for the District of Idaho, Brailsford received calls to recuse herself from a lawsuit brought by death row inmate Thomas Eugene Creech alleging prosecutorial fabrication of evidence.[21] Brailsford had a close personal friendship with Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts, whose office oversaw the prosecution of Creech for the 1981 murder of inmate David Dale Jenson.[22][23] While previously having clerked with and developed a friendship with Bennetts under Judge Thomas G. Nelson in 1993, Brailsford justified her lack of recusal by saying the two had "lost touch".[24] Writing for a three judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Jay Bybee determined that, while Brailsford likely would have been able to hear the case in good faith, her impartiality would have been reasonably questioned due to the unique circumstances of the case, ultimately supporting her removal from the case.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hon. Judge Amanda K. Brailsford". isc.idaho.gov. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "Hon. Amanda Kathleen Brailsford Profile". www.martindale.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e "President Biden Names Twenty–Ninth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "Moeller appointed to Supreme Court, Brailsford picked for Court of Appeals". Idaho State Journal. November 30, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Man charged with felony DUI for striking cyclist to plead guilty, will likely file appeal". 27 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Family of severely injured bicyclist says hospital plans to discharge him prematurely". 6 February 2018.
  8. ^ https://isc.idaho.gov/opinions/48172.pdf
  9. ^ "Judge Amanda Brailsford – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho". 16 February 2023.
  10. ^ https://isc.idaho.gov/opinions/48781.pdf
  11. ^ https://isc.idaho.gov/opinions/48781summ.pdf
  12. ^ Vazquez, Maegan (January 18, 2023). "First on CNN: Biden releases first slate of 2023 judicial nominees". CNN. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 31, 2023.
  14. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. March 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 27, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  16. ^ "Idaho Senators Applaud Judiciary Committee Approval of Judge Amanda Brailsford" (Press release).
  17. ^ "PN286 — Amanda K. Brailsford — The Judiciary". congress.gov. January 31, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  18. ^ Amanda Brailsford at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  19. ^ Kwan, Cory (May 19, 2023). "Judge Amanda K. Brailsford becomes Idaho's 13th and first female US District Judge". kivitv.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  20. ^ Crawley, John (May 6, 2023). "Brailsford Confirmed as First Female US Trial Judge in Idaho". news.bloomberglaw.com.
  21. ^ Rodriguez, Richard (October 17, 2024). "9th Circuit Court of Appeals removes federal judge in Creech case after failing to recuse herself". KTVB7. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  22. ^ Jacobsen, Kate (October 18, 2024). "Federal judge removed from Thomas Creech case, new appeal filed". KIVI-TV. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  23. ^ Zoppo, Avalon (October 17, 2024). "'Clear Abuse of Discretion': 9th Circuit Says Judge Should Have Recused From Death Row Inmate's Lawsuit". Law.com. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  24. ^ Raymond, Nate (October 17, 2024). "Idaho judge removed from death-row inmate's case over friendship with prosecutor". Reuters. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  25. ^ Thomsen, Jacqueline (October 17, 2024). "Judge's Ties to Prosecutor Spurs Removal From Death-Row Lawsuit". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho
2023–present 		Incumbent


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