Barbara Jacobs Rothstein
Barbara Jacobs Rothstein is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rothstein received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1960 and a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1966. She was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1966 to 1968. She worked for the Washington State Attorney General's Office from 1968 to 1977, where she worked as assistant attorney general and chief trial attorney for the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division. She was also an adjunct professor at the University of Washington Law School from 1975 to 1977. She was a judge of the Superior Court of Washington in King County, Washington from 1977 to 1980.
On December 3, 1979, Rothstein was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington created by 92 Stat. 1629; She was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1980, and received her commission the same day. She served as Chief Judge from 1987 to 1994. From 2003 to 2011, she was the Director of the Federal Judicial Center. She assumed senior status on September 1, 2011, and is currently serving by designation on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
