The Senate confirmed Riverside Superior Judge Sunshine Sykes to serve as a judge in the California Central District of California May 18.
Sykes is the first Native American federal judge in California, the first federal judge from the Navajo nation, and the fifth Native American federal judge in the United States, according to the Ninth Circuit news release.
“We have mixed emotions in that we are losing a valuable member of our bench who cannot be easily replaced, but are extremely proud of Judge Sykes’ historic confirmation to the District Court,” wrote Riverside Superior Court Presiding Judge John Monterosso.
The 51-45 vote was split largely by party line. Senate Democrats unanimously approved Sykes’ nomination, but only three Republicans voted her in. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) were the only Republican yes votes. Two Republicans and two Democrats did not vote.
“When I first started as a judicial officer in Riverside eight years ago, I had a caseload of over 900 cases in my unlimited civil department, and that, as you know, is a wealth of cases,” Sykes said at her Feb. 1 nomination hearing. “I started out straight, handling jury trials one after the other, and I continued that until I was recently chosen to be on a complex civil litigation department. In that capacity over a period of two years I was able to reduce my caseload from 900 cases to about 500 cases. So I know about hard work.”
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez congratulated Sykes in a statement.
“Her upbringing, exceptional experience, and commitment to serving the public and the justice system will bring new and unique perspectives to the justice system. We will continue to pray for her continued success as she serves in the U.S. District Court and we thank her for being an inspiration to our young Navajo people,” Nez wrote.
Sykes’ background
In written answers to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sykes said she prioritizes dignity and respect.
“My judicial philosophy is to treat all litigants with dignity and respect, to keep an open mind, to listen attentively, to research and do the work necessary to prepare, and to issue a clear, concise, and understandable decision consistent with the applicable law,” Sykes wrote.
Sykes began serving as a Riverside Superior Court judge in 2013. She presides over the civil litigation department, and is the presiding judge of the appellate division.
Previously, Sykes was a Riverside County deputy county counsel from 2005 to 2013, and a contract attorney for the Southwest Justice Center’s Juvenile Defense Panel in Murrieta from 2003 to 2005. Sykes was a law clerk for DNA Legal Services on the Navajo reservation for a year starting in 1999. She worked at California Indian Legal Services as a law clerk in 1998, then as a staff attorney from 2001 to 2003.
She graduated from Stanford Law School in 2001, and from Stanford University in 1997.
“The seed that brought me here existed long ago. It was held by my ancestors and nurtured by my great-grandmother when she raised her family while tending sheep on the Navajo reservation. It grew in my grandmother as she endured life in Indian boarding schools. It sprouted in my mother when as a little girl I saw her strong even when she herself thought she had none. And it flourished in me,” Sykes said in her opening statements of her nomination hearing.
Sykes will begin working in Riverside, filling the seat vacated by California Central District Judge James Selna.
