Patti B. Saris

Patti B. Saris (born July 20, 1951) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She is also the former Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.[1]

Patti Saris
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2019
Preceded by	Mark Lawrence Wolf
Succeeded by	F. Dennis Saylor IV
Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission
In office December 22, 2010 – January 3, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	William K. Sessions III
Succeeded by	William H. Pryor Jr. (Acting)
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Incumbent
Assumed office November 24, 1993
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Walter Jay Skinner
Personal details
Born	July 20, 1951 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Arthur I. Segel
Education	Harvard University (BA, JD)

Early life and education

Saris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Girls' Latin School,[2] and later received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.

Legal career

Saris was a law clerk for Judge Robert Braucher of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1976 to 1977. She was in private practice with the law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot in Boston from 1977 to 1979, served as Staff counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1979 to 1981, and then returned to private practice with the firm of Berman, Dittmar & Engel, P.C. from 1981 to 1982.

Saris then served as Assistant United States Attorney of the District of Massachusetts from 1982 to 1986. She was Chief of the Civil Division from 1984 to 1986. From 1986-89 she was a United States Magistrate Judge, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was an Associate Justice in the Trial Court of Massachusetts, Superior Court Department from 1989 to 1993.

Federal judicial career

On the recommendation of Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, Saris was nominated as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President Bill Clinton on October 27, 1993, to a seat vacated by Walter Jay Skinner. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 1993, and received her commission on November 24, 1993. She served as Chief Judge from January 1, 2013 until December 31, 2019.

United States Sentencing Commission

In April 2010, President Obama nominated Saris as Commissioner and Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. She was confirmed by the Senate on December 22, 2010 and sworn in by Justice Elena Kagan on February 16, 2011.[3] Her term expired on January 3, 2017.

References

1. "Saris to Chair United States Sentencing Commission" (PDF). United States Sentencing Commission. December 23, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
2. "Patti B. Saris Oral History, Chief Justice, US District Court for Massachusetts; Staffer for Edward Kennedy, Senate Judiciary Committee". www.emkinstitute.org.
3. "President Obama Nominates Two United States Sentencing Commission". The White House. April 28, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.

External links

• Patti B. Saris at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.