17 Facts About James Donato

James Donato has served as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California since 2014.

James Donato received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from the University of California, Berkeley.

James Donato received a Master of Arts degree in 1984 from Harvard University.

James Donato received a Juris Doctor in 1988 from Stanford Law School, where he was an executive board member of the Stanford Law Review.

James Donato served as a law clerk for Judge Procter Ralph Hug Jr.

James Donato served as a deputy city attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office from 1993 to 1996.

James Donato served as a partner at Cooley LLP from 1996 to 2009.

James Donato's practice concentrated on antitrust litigation and class action lawsuits.

James Donato is a past president of the Bar Association of San Francisco.

James Donato's nomination was submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

James Donato's nomination hearing was held on September 11,2013, before the committee.

On October 31,2013, James Donato was unanimously reported out of the committee.

On January 8,2021, James Donato issued an order blocking the implementation of a rule issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security and United States Department of Justice that would have created new restrictions for those seeking asylum in the United States.

James Donato ruled that purported Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf lacked authority to impose the rule because he had not been properly appointed to his position.

In February 2021, James Donato approved a $650 million settlement between Facebook and a class of plaintiffs suing under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Also in February 2021, James Donato sentenced former California State Assemblyman Terrence Goggin to one year and one day in prison for money laundering, and ordered Goggin to pay $685,000 in restitution for his victims.

On February 28,2024, James Donato ruled that California's permanent prohibition of individuals who have had their convictions vacated, set aside, or dismissed, from possessing firearms violated the Second Amendment as applied to the individual Plaintiffs.