David Stras


David Ryan Stras is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is a former Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Early life and education

Stras was born in 1974 in Wichita, Kansas. He received a Bachelor of Arts with highest honors and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Kansas where he became a member of Theta Chi fraternity. In 1999, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Criminal Procedure Edition of the Kansas Law Review.

Career

Stras clerked for Judges Melvin Brunetti of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Stras then worked at the D.C. office of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood for one year, after which he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court.
Stras was a professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School from 2004 to 2010, teaching and writing in the areas of federal courts and jurisdiction, constitutional law, criminal law, and law and politics. He won the law school's Stanley V. Kinyon Tenure Track Teacher of the Year Award in 2006. While he was on the faculty of University of Minnesota Law School, he was also a counsel at Faegre & Bensen. Stras also served as co-director of the Institute for Law and Politics. He has contributed to research on such topics as judicial pensions and life tenure for judges. Stras has also studied judicial appointments and the politics of courts. He is a member of the Federalist Society.
Stras was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Tim Pawlenty, with his term beginning on July 1, 2010. He was sworn in on July 12, 2010, in a public ceremony. Stras was elected to a six-year term in 2012. Prior to his appointment, he was a frequent guest on legal topics at Minnesota Public Radio. He is believed to be the first Jewish justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was on President Donald Trump's list of potential Supreme Court justices.

Federal judicial service

On May 8, 2017, Trump nominated Stras to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge Diana E. Murphy who took senior status on November 29, 2016. On September 5, 2017, Minnesota Senator Al Franken announced that he would not return his blue slip for Stras. On November 29, 2017, a hearing was held on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On January 3, 2018, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 5, 2018, Trump announced his intent to renominate Stras to a federal judgeship. On January 8, 2018, his renomination was sent to the Senate. On January 18, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–8 vote. On January 30, 2018, David Stras's nomination to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the 8th Circuit was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 56–42. He received his judicial commission on January 31, 2018.

Personal life

Stras and his wife, Heather, have two children. His grandmother is a Holocaust survivor from Hungary and his grandfather is a Holocaust survivor from Germany.

Electoral history

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