Bolden received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1986 from
Columbia University. He received a
Juris Doctor in 1989 from
Harvard Law School. He began his legal career as a Marvin Karpatkin Fellow, from 1989 to 1990, and then as a staff attorney at the
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, from 1990 to 1994. He served as assistant counsel at the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, from 1994 to 2000. From 2000 to 2005, he worked at the law firm of Wiggin & Dana, where he handled a wide variety of commercial litigation matters. From 2005 to 2009, he returned to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund as general counsel. From 2009 to 2014, he served as corporation counsel for the City of
New Haven, Connecticut.
Federal judicial service On June 16, 2014, President
Barack Obama nominated Bolden to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, to the seat vacated by Judge
Janet Bond Arterton, who assumed
senior status on July 1, 2014. On July 29, 2014 a hearing on his nomination was held before the
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. On September 18, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by a 10–8 vote. On November 18, 2014 Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid filed for
cloture on his nomination. On November 19, 2014, the
United States Senate invoked
cloture on his nomination by a 51–44 vote. On November 20, 2014, Bolden was confirmed by a 49–46 vote. He received his judicial commission on November 21, 2014. == See also ==