[EDRM Editor’s Note: EDRM is happy to amplify our Trusted Partners news and events, and the EDRM community offers heartfelt congratulations to Judge Mueller.]
Senior District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (pictured above) has been named the next David F. Levi Professor of the Practice of Law and Director of the Bolch Judicial Institute, effective Jan. 5, 2026.
Judge Mueller, a 2025 graduate of Duke Law’s Master of Judicial Studies program, will succeed Paul W. Grimm, who has served as director since January 2023. When she retires from the bench at the end of 2025, she will have served 15 years as a U.S. district court judge and nearly eight years as a U.S. magistrate judge in the Eastern District of California. She was chief judge of the Eastern District from 2020 to 2024 and took senior status in September of 2024.
“Judge Mueller is an exceptional judge and leader within the federal judiciary,” said Kerry Abrams, the James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law at Duke Law School. “She brings deep knowledge of the federal courts and the judicial role as well as a unique perspective on the challenges courts face developed through her service as chief judge. Our students and faculty will benefit tremendously from her knowledge and experience, and we very much look forward to welcoming her to Duke.”
In addition to her time as a student in the Master of Judicial Studies program, Judge Mueller has served as a member of the Bolch Judicial Institute Leadership Council and participated in its Defending the Judiciary and civics education initiatives.
“I can’t think of a better person to lead the next phase of the Bolch Institute’s important work,” said Judge Grimm. “Judge Mueller is known as a wise and thoughtful leader across the federal judiciary and has already been engaged with many of our programs. She is deeply committed to the Bolch mission to advance and protect the rule of law, to strengthen judicial independence, and to improve public outreach to better educate the public about the role of the judicial branch. And she is a wonderful person who I know will be a terrific colleague and partner for everyone involved with the Bolch Judicial Institute. I look forward to supporting her as she brings her own vision and energy to this role.”
Judge Mueller is known as a wise and thoughtful leader across the federal judiciary and has already been engaged with many of our programs. She is deeply committed to the Bolch mission to advance and protect the rule of law, to strengthen judicial independence, and to improve public outreach to better educate the public about the role of the judicial branch.
The Hon. Paul Grimm (ret.), David F. Levi Professor of the Practice of Law and Director of the Bolch Judicial Institute.
A public servant from the start
Judge Mueller earned a bachelor’s degree in the history of religions at Pomona College and then worked at the California Department of Conservation and the California Firefighter Foundation in Sacramento, California. She was appointed to serve on the Sacramento City Toxics Commission in 1985 and was elected in 1987 to a seat on the Sacramento City Council.
As a city council member, she represented a district that included 40,000 residents and an Army Depot that was slated for closure. She worked closely with constituents to oppose closure and ultimately helped persuade the Base Realignment and Closure Commission to take steps to mitigate the closure’s economic impact on her district. Through her five-year tenure on the city council, she advocated for responsible land development, economic redevelopment, curbside recycling, and pedestrian-oriented urban design. She also sponsored a campaign finance reform measure and an artist live-work ordinance. In 1989 she served as vice mayor.
A pivot to the law
Instead of seeking reelection to city council in 1992, she enrolled in law school at Stanford University, where she served as symposium editor for the Stanford Law & Policy Review and was a judicial extern for Judge David F. Levi of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Her externship with Judge Levi led to several serendipitous moments — she would later follow in his footsteps to serve as chief judge of the Eastern District and now will assume a professorship and directorship named in honor of his tenure as the founding director of the Bolch Judicial Institute.
After law school, she practiced at the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in Sacramento and, in 2000, formed her own law practice representing primarily small and medium-sized clients in intellectual property, internet, and art law matters.
In April 2003, she was appointed by the Eastern District of California to serve as a U.S. magistrate judge. As a judge, she maintained a large civil caseload and served as a member of multiple court committees, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ alternative dispute resolution committee. She was nominated and unanimously confirmed as a U.S. district judge in 2010. She has handled several notable cases, including some of the earliest First Step Act cases, which provided for compassionate release of some incarcerated individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has presided over a decades-long class action case that has mandated the provision of constitutionally adequate mental health care, including improved suicide prevention, in California prisons. In connection with the prison mental health care class action case, she has served on a three-judge court that has continuing jurisdiction with respect to an order setting a cap on the overall prison population.
Mueller was named chief judge of the Eastern District of California in January 2020. During her nearly five-year term as chief, she steered the court through unprecedented challenges created by the pandemic and the district’s enormous caseload, which is among the highest in the country.
“As a leader, Judge Mueller has an innate ability to collaborate with people, whether they be judges, lawyers, staff members, or community leaders and stakeholders,” said Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. “During her tenure as Chief of the Eastern District of California, a district that ranks both at the top of average weighted caseloads nationwide and in terms of productivity per judge, Judge Mueller led with determination, confidence, and grace. She embodies an untethered commitment to the rule of law, to public service, and to the institution of justice, and is the ideal person to serve as director of the Bolch Judicial Institute.”
As a leader, Judge Mueller has an innate ability to collaborate with people, whether they be judges, lawyers, staff members, or community leaders and stakeholders.
Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
At home in the classroom
Judge Mueller has extensive teaching experience and most recently created and taught a seminar on the rule of law for students at the University of California–Davis School of Law. She also has taught at McGeorge School of Law and was part of a small leadership team that delivered training for new chief judges for the Federal Judicial Center in 2024.
“In addition to being a distinguished judge, Judge Mueller has distinguished herself in the classroom for over twenty years,” said Marin K. Levy, professor of law and faculty director of the Bolch Judicial Institute. “We are so fortunate that she is bringing that experience to the Law School, to the benefit of the students and the faculty.”
Judge Mueller’s many publications include a Federal Bench and Bar Media Handbook developed by Eastern District lawyers; a tribute to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in the UC Davis Law Review; and “Kennedy v. Bremerton: A Replay Review with Lessons for a Better Pluralism Playbook,” her thesis for the Master of Judicial Studies program at Duke Law. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute; a former board member of the Federal Judicial Center; a founding board member and judicial advisor to the Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Library and Learning Center; and a member and former director of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California Historical Society.
“I am thrilled that Kim has accepted the position of our next director,” said Judge Levi, who is now an emeritus member of the Bolch Judicial Institute Advisory Board and president of the American Law Institute. “I’ve known her for many years as a city councilwoman, a law clerk, a lawyer, and a judicial colleague. She is a highly respected judge nationwide both for her work on the bench and for her work on civic education. She will be a wonderful director and professor of the practice.”
I am thrilled that Kim has accepted the position of our next director. I’ve known her for many years as a city councilwoman, a law clerk, a lawyer, and a judicial colleague. She is a highly respected judge nationwide both for her work on the bench and for her work on civic education. She will be a wonderful director and professor of the practice.
The Hon. David Levi (ret.), emeritus member of the Bolch Judicial Institute Advisory Board and president of the American Law Institute.
Read the original release here.
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