Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong

Saundra Brown Armstrong became the first African-American woman to serve on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California when she was appointed by the President of the United States and sworn in on June 21, 1991. At the time of her nomination to the federal bench, she was serving as a Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court, a position to which she was appointed by the Governor of the State of California.

Prior to serving on the Alameda County Superior Court, Judge Armstrong served as a Commissioner of the United States Parole Commission, a position to which she was appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. As Commissioner, she was responsible for making all parole decisions on eligible federal prisoners, federal parolees and mandatory releases within the 14 Western states. Prior to serving on the United States Parole Commission, Judge Armstrong served as Commissioner and Vice Chairman of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington, D.C., a position to which she was appointed by the President of the United States, again with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. She was one of five Commissioners responsible for protecting American consumers from unreasonable risks presented by consumer products.

Prior to her service on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Judge Armstrong was a Trial Attorney in the Public Integrity Section of the United States Department of Justice, where she investigated and prosecuted violations of federal criminal public corruption statutes. Before joining the Department of Justice, Judge Armstrong, a native of California, was a Trial Attorney with the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, where she prosecuted violations of state criminal statutes. She has also served as a Senior Consultant to the California Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice in Sacramento, California, where she provided legal advice to State legislators concerning the California criminal justice system.

Judge Armstrong was admitted to the California Bar in 1977 after earning her Juris Doctorate Degree, magna cum laude, from the University of San Francisco School of Law, while working full-time as an Oakland, California Policewoman. She earned a Master of Divinity in May, 2012, from the Pacific School of Religion, in Berkeley, CA, while working full-time as an active United States District Court Judge.

Judge Armstrong was the recipient of a number of awards for excellent scholastic achievement and commendations from the California State Assembly. She was inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame in the category of “Justice”, and was the recipient of the San Francisco Bar Association’s prestigious “Champion of Justice” award. She has received awards for “Judicial Excellence” presented by the Charles Houston Bar Assn., the California Association of Black Lawyers and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund award.

Judge Armstrong has taught Federal Litigation Practice courses at the University of San Francisco School of Law and has conducted Judicial Training workshops in the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union, to assist Russian judges with the development of their criminal justice system.
In January 1996, Judge Armstrong was found to be one of the “least reversed” judges on the court after a study conducted by The Recorder, a legal publication. She was one of only two active judges to have earned such a distinction.

Judge Armstrong assumed senior status on March 23, 2012.