Charnelle Bjelkengren

Charnelle Marie Bjelkengren (born 1975)[1] is an American lawyer who has served as a judge of the Spokane County Superior Court since 2019. She is a nominee to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

Charnelle Bjelkengren
Bjelkengren in 2023
Personal details
Born
Charnelle Marie Bjelkengren

1975 (age 47–48)
Great Lakes, Illinois, U.S.
EducationMinnesota State University, Mankato (BA)
Gonzaga University (JD)

Education

Bjelkengren received a Bachelor of Arts from Mankato State University (now Minnesota State University), cum laude, in 1997 and a Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2000.[2]

Career

From 2001 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2013, Bjelkengren served as an assistant attorney general in the Washington State Attorney General's office. From 2013 to 2019, she served as an administrative law judge for Washington State's Office of Administrative Hearings. Since 2019, she has served as a judge on the Spokane County Superior Court.[2]

Nomination to district court

On September 2, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Bjelkengren to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. On September 19, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Bjelkengren to the seat vacated by Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr., who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on September 16, 2022.[3] On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. She was renominated on January 23, 2023.[4] On January 25, 2023, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[5] During her confirmation hearing, Bjelkengren could not answer questions from Senator John Kennedy about the functions of Article V and II of the United States Constitution and if she knew what purposivism[6] was.[7][8][9][10] Her nomination is pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If confirmed, Bjelkengren would be the first woman of color to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington and the first half-Black woman to serve on a United States District Court in the state of Washington.[11]

References
  1. "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  2. "President Biden Names Twenty-Sixth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 19, 2022.
  4. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. January 23, 2023.
  5. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. January 24, 2023.
  6. "Internet shocked at Biden judicial nominee's failure to answer simple question on legal procedure". MSN.
  7. Concepcion, Summer; Thorp V, Frank. "Sen. Kennedy stumps Biden judicial nominee with basic questions about Constitution". NBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  8. Bolton, Alexander (January 31, 2023). "McConnell mocks Biden judicial nominee for flubbing basic legal questions".
  9. "Republicans Rip Biden Court Pick For Bungling Questions On Constitution". HuffPost. January 31, 2023.
  10. "Biden Judicial Pick Who Failed Spot Quiz Attracts GOP Criticism". news.bloomberglaw.com.
  11. Pierson, Brendan; Raymond, Nate (September 2, 2022). "Biden taps Montana law prof for 9th Circuit in latest slate of judges". Reuters. Retrieved September 2, 2022.



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