She had served as deputy district attorney and chief deputy for over 17 years in the office of the Clark County District Attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada,[5] as well as receiving law practice as a clerk at Kiefer Clark & O'Reilly and other legal services throughout the United States prior to her appointments.[2] She served as a United States district judge after being nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate in 1997. She was the first female judge to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.[citation needed]
Rawlinson was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 22, 2000, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after being recommended for the post by United States Senator Harry Reid. Rawlinson was nominated to a seat vacated by Melvin T. Brunetti. Rawlinson was confirmed by the United States Senate by a voice vote on July 21, 2000, making her the final appeals-court nominee to be confirmed during Clinton's presidency. She received her commission on July 26, 2000.[8] Rawlinson subsequently took the oath of office on the same day, becoming the first African American woman to sit on the Ninth Circuit.
On April 14, 2022, news reports stated Rawlinson suggested she would consider assuming senior status, creating a vacancy for her seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, if Berna Rhodes-Ford, former law clerk and wife of Aaron D. Ford, would be nominated as her successor.[9][10]
Personal life
Rawlinson resides in Las Vegas.[5] Her husband of 40 years, Dwight Rawlinson, died of cancer in August 2016.[11]