Honorable Bernice B. Donald US District Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee
The Honorable Bernice Donald was nominated to the U.S. District Court on December 7, 1995 by President William Clinton, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 1995 and took the bench on December 26, 1995. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Donald served as a US Bankruptcy Judge, also on the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, from 1988-1995. She served as a Judge of the General Sessions Criminal Court of the State of Tennessee form 1982-1988, and as an Assistant Public Defender in the Shelby County Public Defender’s office in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1980-1982.
Earlier legal practice included working as a Staff Attorney, Employment Law and Economic Development Unit, Memphis Area Legal Service; and as an attorney in private practice. Judge Donald taught form 1984-1989 as an Adjunct Professor at Shelby State Community College. Judge Donald received her BA in 1974 from Memphis State University, and her JD in 1979 form Memphis State University Law School.