| Bernice Donald | |
| Office: | Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit |
| Term Start: | September 27, 2022 |
| Term End: | January 20, 2023 |
| Office1: | Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit |
| Term Start1: | September 8, 2011 |
| Term End1: | September 27, 2022 |
| Appointer1: | Barack Obama |
| Predecessor1: | Ronald Lee Gilman |
| Office2: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee |
| Term Start2: | December 26, 1995 |
| Term End2: | September 8, 2011 |
| Appointer2: | Bill Clinton |
| Predecessor2: | Odell Horton |
| Successor2: | John T. Fowlkes Jr. |
| Birth Name: | Bernice Bouie |
| Education: | University of Memphis (BA, JD) |
Bernice Bouie Donald (born September 17, 1951) is an American lawyer and former federal judge. She served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 2011 to 2023. She previously served as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee from 1995 to 2011.
Donald was born in DeSoto County, Mississippi. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Memphis in 1974 and a Juris Doctor from University of Memphis School of Law in 1979. She was in private practice in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1979 to 1980, then became a staff attorney of the Employment Law & Economic Development Unit, Memphis Area Legal Services, Tennessee in 1980. Donald was an assistant public defender in the Shelby County Public Defender's Office, Tennessee from 1980 to 1982. From 1985 to 1988, she was an adjunct professor at Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
Donald was a judge on Tennessee's General Sessions Criminal Court from 1982 to 1988, also teaching as an adjunct professor at Southwest Tennessee Community College from 1984 to 1989. Donald became a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority Alpha Eta Zeta chapter (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1983.
From 1988 to 1995, Donald served as a United States bankruptcy judge for the Western District of Tennessee.
On December 7, 1995, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee vacated by Odell Horton. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 1995, and received her commission on December 26, 1995. Her service as a U.S. district judge was terminated on September 8, 2011, when she was elevated to the federal appellate court.
On December 1, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Donald for a judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to replace Judge Ronald Lee Gilman who assumed senior status on November 21, 2010.[1] The Senate confirmed Donald on September 6, 2011, by a 96–2 vote.[2] She received her commission on September 8, 2011. On September 8, 2022, her successor, Andre Mathis, was confirmed by the Senate. Donald assumed senior status on September 27, 2022, and retired from active service on January 20, 2023.
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