Jodi Dishman

Jodi Dishman is a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. She was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on September 9, 2019, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 2019, by a vote of 75-17.^[1][2] She received commission on December 20, 2019.^[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Dishman was a shareholder at McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City in Oklahoma from 2014 to 2019.^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On September 9, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Dishman to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The United States Senate confirmed the nomination on December 19, 2019, by a vote of 75-17.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Jodi Dishman
Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
Progress
Confirmed 101 days after nomination.
Nominated: September 9, 2019
ABA Rating: Unanimously well qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
Hearing: September 25, 2019
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
Reported: October 31, 2019
Confirmed: December 19, 2019
Vote: 75-17

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Dishman on December 19, 2019, on a vote of 75-17.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Dishman confirmation vote (December 19, 2019)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	23	17	5
Republican	51	0	2
Independent	1	0	1
Total	75	17	8

Change in Senate rules

See also:

Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress

Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

United States federal courts

Dishman was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.^[5]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.^[6]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.^[7] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Dishman had her hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 25, 2019.^[8] The committee voted 17-5 on October 31 to advance her nomination to the full Senate.^[9]

Nomination

On August 14, 2019, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Jodi Dishman to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.^[4] Dishman was nominated to replace Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, who assumed senior status on November 5, 2018.^[4][10] The nomination was officially received in the U.S. Senate on September 9, 2019.^[1]

Oklahoma Senators James Lankford (R) and Jim Inhofe (R) voiced support for the nomination.^[11]

Said Lankford:

Said Inhofe:

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Dishman well qualified for the position.^[13] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Early life and education

Dishman was born in 1979 in Memphis, Tennessee. She earned her B.B.A., cum laude, from Southern Methodist University in 2002 and her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2005. She served as editor-in-chief of the Oklahoma Law Review.^[4][14]

Professional career

• 2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
• 2012-2019: McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • 2014-2019: Shareholder
  • 2012-2013: Of counsel
• 2007-2012: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in San Antonio, Texas
  • 2010-2012: Counsel
  • 2007-2009: Associate
• 2005-2007: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • 2006-2007: Law clerk to Judge Edward C. Prado
  • 2005-2006: Law clerk to Judge Carolyn Dineen King^[14]

Awards and associations

Awards

• 2019, 2018: Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation and Insurance Law
• 2015-2019: Benchmark Litigation Future Star
• 2014-2018: Oklahoma Super Lawyers Rising Star^[14]

Associations

• 2012-present (as of nomination): Federal Bar Association's Oklahoma City Chapter
  • 2018-2019: President
  • 2017-2018: President-elect
  • 2015-2018: Secretary
  • 2014-2015: Director
• 2007-2012: American Bar Association
• 2007-2009: Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit^[14]

About the court

Western District of Oklahoma
Tenth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 7
Judges: 7
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Timothy DeGiusti
Active judges: Timothy DeGiusti, Jodi Dishman, Charles B. Goodwin, John Heil III, Bernard Jones, Scott Palk, Patrick Wyrick Senior judges: Wayne Alley, Robin Cauthron, Stephen Friot, Joe Heaton, Timothy D. Leonard, Vicki Miles-LaGrange, James Payne, David Russell

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma is one of 94 United States district courts. It operates out of a courthouse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit based in Denver, Colorado at the Byron White Federal Courthouse.

The Western District of Oklahoma was established by Congress on June 16, 1906, with one post each for the Western and the Eastern districts. Over time, six additional judicial posts were added for a total of seven current posts.^[15]

The Western District of Oklahoma has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. The jurisdiction of the Western District of Oklahoma consists of all the counties in the western part of the state of Oklahoma. Click here to read more about the court’s jurisdiction.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

See also

• United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
• 10th Circuit Court of Appeals

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
• United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
• McAfee & Taft profile page

Footnotes