Catherine C. Blake is an active United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

 on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland

United States District Court for the District of Maryland

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland....

.

Blake was born in Boston, Massachusetts. After receiving an A.B.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Radcliffe College

Radcliffe College

Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...

 in 1972, she enrolled in Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

, where she received a J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 in 1975. She was in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1975 to 1977. She was with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland from 1977 to 1987. During that period, she was an Assistant U.S. attorney from 1977 to 1983, then became a first assistant from 1983 to 1985, when she was appointed by the court to serve as the U.S. Attorney, a position she held until 1987, when she again became the first assistant. In 1987 she became a United States magistrate judge

United States magistrate judge

In the United States federal courts, magistrate judges are appointed to assist United States district court judges in the performance of their duties...

 in the District of Maryland.

In 1995 Magistrate Judge Blake became a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 on May 4, 1995, to a seat vacated by John R. Hargrove. She was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on August 11, 1995, and received her commission on August 14, 1995.

Sources