Samuel Alba (born 1947) is a former United States magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the District of Utah.

Samuel Alba
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah
In office
1992 – June 30, 2012
Personal details
Born1947 (age 76–77)
EducationUtah State University (B.S.)
Arizona State University College of Law (J.D.)

Early life and education

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Alba was born in 1947.

Alba graduated from Utah State University in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in political science.[1] He graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law in 1972.[1]

Career

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From 1972 to 1977, Alba worked at the Federal Public Defenders' Office in Phoenix, Arizona.[2] From 1977 to 1980, Alba worked at the Phoenix law firm of Gama, Iniguez, Guerrero & Albaal, where he practiced in the area of personal injury and criminal defense.[2][3]

On October 8, 1980, Alba was admitted to the Utah State Bar.[3] From 1980 to 1987, Alba worked as first assistant and then chief of the criminal section at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah in Salt Lake City.[2] From 1987 to 1992, Albra was a shareholder at the Salt Lake City firm of Yeates, Prince, and Geldzhaler, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense.[2]

Federal judicial service

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Alba was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the District of Utah from August 1992 to 2012.[1] He was chief magistrate judge from 2003 to 2008.[2] He served on the Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services, and is co-chair of the building committee for the District of Utah.[3] He retired from the bench on June 30, 2012.

Alba has been involved in several notable court cases:

On 2005, the Utah Minority Bar Association honored Alba as one of the first 50 minority lawyers in Utah.[2] In 2009, Alba was included in Latinos in Utah, book recognizing the contributions made by Latinos in the State of Utah.[2] In 2010, Alba delivered a speech entitled "The Changing Face of Law in Latin America" as part of Utah State University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Alumni Speaker series.[1]

Personal life

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Alba was married to Nancy Alba until she died from breast cancer in 1992. Alba later married Anne Swensen. He has four children and eight grandchildren.[1][2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Judge Samuel Alba: Humanities and Social Sciences' Distinguished Speaker (November 16, 2010). Utah State University.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Magistrate Samuel Alba, Latinos in Utah.
  3. ^ a b c First 50 Celebrating Diversity in the Law Archived 2012-04-01 at the Wayback Machine. Utah Minority Bar Association.
  4. ^ Jennifer Dobner, Judge OKs new mental test in Elizabeth Smart case (November 12, 2008). Associated Press.
  5. ^ Brandon Loomis, Artifact traffickers sentenced to probation (September 16, 2007). Salt Lake Tribune.
  6. ^ Judy Fahys, Bugman, ex-worker plead guilty in Layton pesticide deaths (October 11, 2011). Salt Lake Tribune.
  7. ^ Judy Fahys, Exterminators plead 'not guilty' in pesticide deaths (February 25, 2011). Salt Lake Tribune.
  8. ^ Brad Harris, Two Cases Feature Extreme Sanctions for Preservation Failures; Both Cite a Failure to Issue a Legal Hold as Key Factor (April 4, 2011). Legal Hold Pro Tracker.