Beverly Reid O'Connell

Beverly Ann Reid O'Connell (May 12, 1965 – October 8, 2017) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Beverly Reid O'Connell
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office
April 30, 2013 – October 8, 2017
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byValerie Baker Fairbank
Succeeded byvacant
Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court
In office
2005–2013
Appointed byArnold Schwarzenegger
Personal details
Born
Beverly Ann Reid

(1965-05-12)May 12, 1965
Ventura, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 8, 2017(2017-10-08) (aged 52)
Cause of deathBrain aneurysm
SpouseDan O'Connell
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Pepperdine University (JD)

Early life and education

O'Connell was born Beverly Ann Reid on May 12, 1965, in Ventura, California.[1] She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from the University of California at Los Angeles. She received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 1990 from Pepperdine University School of Law.[1][2][3]

Career

From 1990 to 1995, she worked at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, where she handled a variety of civil litigation matters. She served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California from 1995 to 2005.[2][1]

She was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2005,[4] and served on that court until 2013.[2][1] For five months in 2010 and 2011, she sat by designation on the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, Division 8. She also served as Assistant Supervising Judge with the North Valley District of the Superior Court.[2][1]

Federal judicial service

On November 14, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated O'Connell to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California, to the seat vacated by Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank, who assumed senior status due to a certified disability on March 1, 2012.[2] On January 2, 2013, her nomination was returned to the President, due to the sine die adjournment of the Senate. On January 3, 2013, she was renominated to the same office. Her nomination was reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 14, 2013, by voice vote.[5] On April 15, 2013, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed her nomination, on a 92–0 vote.[6] She received her commission on April 30, 2013.[1]

On the federal bench, O'Connell presided over several notable cases. In 2014, O'Connell presided over a copyright infringement lawsuit against Kanye West and his record label UMG Recordings for West's song "Gold Digger"; she dismissed most the claims on a motion for judgment on the pleadings.[7] In 2015, she denied a petition for habeas corpus by Sirhan Sirhan, who is imprisoned for life for assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.[8]

O'Connell was also a member of the board of visitors for her alma mater, Pepperdine University School of Law (later renamed the Rick J. Caruso School of Law).[4]

Death

O'Connell died on October 8, 2017, at the age of 52,[1][9] due to a brain aneurysm.[4]

References
  1. Beverly Reid O'Connell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. President Obama Nominates Seven to the United States District Courts, White House Office of the Press Secretary (November 14, 2012).
  3. "Senate Judiciary Committee Nomination Questionnaire" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  4. Megan Diskin, District court judge born in Ventura dies suddenly, Ventura County Star (October 13, 2017).
  5. "President Obama Re-nominates Thirty-Three to Federal Judgeships". whitehouse.gov. 3 January 2013 – via National Archives.
  6. "On the Nomination (Nomination: Beverly Reid O'Connell of California, to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California)". www.senate.gov.
  7. David McAfee, Kanye West Gets 'Gold Digger' Copyright Action Gutted, Law 360 (August 14, 2014).
  8. Jonathan Stempel, Sirhan Sirhan, convicted in Robert F Kennedy death, denied freedom, Reuters (January 6, 2015).
  9. Passing of the Honorable Beverly Reid O'Connell, United States District Court for the Central District of California.
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