By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Sacramento native Dena M. Coggins was confirmed May 22 by the U.S. Senate as a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of California, the federal court that covers Sacramento.
Coggins will be the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge in the California Eastern District and one of the few Black federal judges in the country.
Her confirmation adds to the growing list of non-white and female judges, the most in U.S history, that Joe Biden has appointed during his presidency, the Washington Informer reported.
That list includes Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Coggins previously served as an administrative law judge in the general jurisdiction and special education divisions for the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings from 2018 to 2021 and from 2015 to 2017, respectively.
Judge Coggins received her bachelor’s from Sacramento State in 2003 and her juris doctor in 2006 from the McGeorge School of Law, where she was the articles editor of the Global Business and Developmental/The Transnational Lawyer Journal.
Kimberly J. Mueller, chief judge for the Eastern District, said the court could not be more pleased by Coggins’ confirmation.
“Judge Coggins’ impressive record of public service has paved the way for her to join our bench without missing a beat,” Mueller said in a statement.
Coggins assumes her new role Sept. 17. She will maintain chambers in Sacramento. She has served as a superior court judge in Sacramento County since 2021 and has been presiding judge of the juvenile court since 2023. There she serves on the Criminal Justice Cabinet, the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council and its Realignment Subcommittee, the Juvenile Justice Diversion and Treatment Program Workgroup, and the Sacramento County Child, Youth and Family System of Care Interagency Leadership Team.