Zachary Maxwell "Zack" Bluestone (born 1986) is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri since 2025. He was previously an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Zachary Maxwell Bluestone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri | |
| Assumed office July 24, 2025 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | John Andrew Ross |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1986 (age 39–40) Chesterfield, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | Georgetown University (BS) University of Oxford (MBA) Harvard University (JD) |
Early life and education
editBluestone was born in 1986 in Chesterfield, Missouri.[1] He received his Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 2009, his Master of Business Administration degree from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in 2011, and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2016, where he served as the managing editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.[2] He was a law clerk for Judge Raymond W. Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 2016 to 2018.[3]
Career
editFrom 2012 to 2013, Bluestone was an intern at the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.[4] In 2014, Bluestone was an intern for the Office of the Chief Prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Military Commissions.[5] From 2015 to 2016, he was an intern for U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch.[6] Bluestone was a deputy solicitor general for the state of Missouri from 2018 to 2020.[3] Since 2020, he has served as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Missouri at St. Louis.[7] From 2020 to 2021, he was a prosecutor in the violent crimes section. From 2021 to 2025, he was chief of the appeals section.[8]
Bluestone is a member of the Federalist Society.[9]
Federal judicial service
editOn May 6, 2025, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Bluestone to an unspecified seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.[10][2] On May 12, 2025, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Bluestone to the seat vacated by Judge John Andrew Ross, who assumed senior status on June 9, 2023.[11] On June 26, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 party-line vote.[12] On July 23, 2025, his nomination was confirmed by a 49–47 vote. He received his judicial commission on July 24, 2025.[13]
References
edit- ↑ Bluestone, Zachary Maxwell (June 3, 2025). "Bluestone's Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire" (PDF). judiciary.senate.com. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- 1 2 "White House Press Release - President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Candidate Nominations | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu.
- 1 2 "Zachary M. Bluestone". AFA Action.
- ↑ "Zack Bluestone | Lawfare". Default.
- ↑ "Summer Internship Spotlight - Department of Defense". Harvard Law School. February 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Zachary Bluestone". Alliance for Justice. May 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Hawley Applauds White House Announcement of Four Outstanding Missourians to the Federal Bench". May 6, 2025.
- ↑ "President Trump announces multiple judicial nominees, accuses court system of blocking him from doing his job - 1010 WCSI". 1010wcsi.com. May 7, 2025.[dead link]
- ↑ Headley, Tiana (June 3, 2025). "Trump's First Judicial Nominees Have Federalist Society Ties". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ↑ "Trump ramps up judicial nominations with four picks in Missouri".
- ↑ "PN150-1 — Zachary M. Bluestone — The Judiciary". congress.gov. May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting" (PDF). U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. June 26, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ↑ Zack Bluestone at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
External links
edit- Zack Bluestone at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.