Judge Maria Elena James was appointed United States Magistrate Judge in October 1994. She graduated from the University of California at Irvine in 1975, and from the University of San Francisco Law School in 1979. Committing herself to public service, Judge James has served as Director of the San Francisco Small Claims Court Education Project (1978); Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco Public Defender's Office (1979-1983); Staff Attorney, National Labor Relations Board (1983); Deputy City Attorney, San Francisco City Attorney's Office (1984-1988); Supervising Attorney, Family and Child Services, San Francisco City Attorney's Office (1984-1988); Commissioner, Civil Discovery, San Francisco Superior Court (1988-1989); and Commissioner, Family Law, San Francisco Superior Court (1989-1994).

She remains active as a member of the bar for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the Supreme Court of the State of California, the Charles Hamilton Houston Bar Association and the San Francisco Bar Association.

Source: http://jtbf.net/index.php?src=directory&view=biographies&srctype=display&refno=158