KU News Release

Mary Murguia

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• School of Law

LAWRENCE — President Barack Obama has nominated University of Kansas School of Law alumna and Arizona district judge Mary H. Murguia for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

“Judge Murguia has displayed an outstanding commitment to public service throughout her career and as a district judge in Arizona,” Obama said in a news release. “I am honored to nominate her today for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals and confident that she will serve the American people with fairness and integrity.”

Murguia graduated from the KU School of  Law in 1985 and earned bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and journalism from KU in 1982.

Murguia became the first Latina to serve on the federal bench for the District of Arizona when President Bill Clinton appointed her to that position in 2000. If confirmed, Murguia would fill a vacancy left by Ninth Circuit Judge Michael Hawkins, a Clinton appointee who has taken senior status.

“The KU School of Law is proud to have another one of its graduates sit on the federal court of appeals,” said Stephen Mazza, professor of law and interim dean designate for the law school. “Mary is well suited for the job and will make an outstanding judge for the Ninth Circuit.”

Throughout her career, Murguia has presided over thousands of civil and criminal cases, including Arizona’s first federal death penalty case since the enactment of the Federal Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Recently, she presided over a controversial case regarding racial profiling by law enforcement.

Murguia is a former state and federal prosecutor. She began her legal career in 1985 with the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office in Kansas City, Kan. From 1990 to 2000, she was an assistant U.S. attorney in Arizona and was the office’s deputy criminal chief from 1994 to 1998. Murguia also provided guidance on law enforcement issues and policy initiatives at the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where she served as counsel to the director’s staff (1998-99), principal deputy director (1999) and director (1999-2000).

In the midst of her professional life of public service, Murguia also has served her legal alma mater with great distinction. She served a two-year term on the KU School of Law’s Board of Governors. In 2008, she became a founding member of the school’s Women’s Advisory Council. In that role, she has shared her wisdom and experience as a mentor and adviser to the students who will follow her footsteps into the legal profession.

“We were delighted to learn that President Obama has nominated Judge Mary Murguia to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,” said Gail Agrawal, dean of the law school. “Judge Murguia is a jurist with great wisdom and integrity. As a first-generation American who grew up in a working-class family in Kansas City, Kansas, she has been a source of inspiration to our students. We take great pride in her and her many achievements and look forward to her confirmation by the Senate.”

Born and raised in Kansas City, Kan., Murguia comes from a large, tight-knit family. Four of the seven siblings hold law degrees. Murguia’s twin sister, Janet Murguia, is president and chief executive officer of La Raza, the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the country. Brother Carlos Murguia serves as a U.S. district judge for the District of Kansas.

The sprawling Ninth Circuit covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. It is the largest of the 13 courts of appeals, with 29 active judgeships.

Murguia would be the second sitting KU law graduate on the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Mary Beck Briscoe, a 1973 graduate of the law school, is a judge on the 10th Circuit.