| Patti Saris | |
|---|---|
| Chairperson of the Sentencing Commission | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 22, 2010 |
|
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | William Sessions |
| Judge of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 24, 1993 |
|
| Nominated by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Walter Skinner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 20, 1951 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Radcliffe College Harvard University |
Patti B. Saris (born July 20, 1951) is a District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She joined the court in 1993 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. She is also Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.[1]
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Saris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Radcliffe College in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.
Saris was a law clerk for the Honorable Robert Braucher, of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1976-77. She was in private practice with the law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot in Boston from 1977–79, served as Staff counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1979–81, and then returned to private practice with the firm of Berman, Dittmar & Engel, P.C. during 1981 to 1982.
Saris then served as Assistant U.S. 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 U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. 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.
On the recommendation of Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, Saris was nominated as a federal judge in 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.
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. [2]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Walter Skinner |
Judge of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts 1993–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by William Sessions |
Chairperson of the Sentencing Commission 2010–present |
Incumbent |