Education
Columbia University; Harvard Law School.
Columbia University; Harvard Law School.
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 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 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 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and Education Fund as General Counsel.
From 2009 to 2014, he served as Corporation Counsel for the City of New Haven, Connecticut. On June 16, 2014, President 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 being vacated by Judge Janet Bond Arterton, who is taking senior status on July 1, 2014.
On July 29, 2014 a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary was held on his nomination.
On September 18, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by vote of 10-8. On November 18, 2014 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on his nomination. On Wednesday November 19, 2014 cloture was invoked by a vote of 51-44.
On Thursday, November 20, 2014 the United States Senate voted 49-46 to confirm Bolden.
He received his judicial commission on November 21, 2014.