James Donato
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014 and confirmed by the Senate 90–5, James Donato is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He earned a law degree from Stanford Law School in 1988. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1960 · age 66
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2014
- Confirmed
- 90–5
- Education
- University of California, Berkeley 1983 · Stanford Law School 1988
- Succeeded
- James Ware
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Northern District of California succeeded James Ware | Obama (D) | 90–5 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 90–5 on February 25, 2014 · 113th Congress, Roll Call 41. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 90
49 D, 39 R, 2 I
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Timothy Scott(R-SC)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- John Walsh(D-MT)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Voted against · 5
5 R
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
Did not vote · 5
4 D, 1 R
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
Education
| University of California, Berkeley | B.A. | 1983 |
| Harvard University | A.M. | 1984 |
| Stanford Law School | J.D. | 1988 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Donato was assigned 2,826 district-court cases (2009–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 210 days across 2,482 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 129 of Donato’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 97 were affirmed, 28 reversed or vacated, and 4 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed James Donato?
- President Barack Obama appointed James Donato to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2014.
- Was James Donato appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Donato was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Donato's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed James Donato 90–5 on February 25, 2014.
- Which court is James Donato on?
- James Donato is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2014)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
12 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).