The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed MacArthur Justice Center Executive Director Amir Ali to the federal trial court in Washington, D.C. (article available here).
Ali, who also directs Harvard Law School's criminal justice appellate clinic, was confirmed in a 50-49 vote. Ali has worked at the MacArthur Justice Center since 2021, litigating cases involving prosecutorial misconduct, police violence and prison conditions. He will the first Arab American person and the first Muslim person to ever serve a lifetime appointment on this court, and the third Muslim Article III judge to ever be confirmed to any federal court.
Democratic senators have been pushing to confirm President Joe Biden’s remaining judicial nominees in the lame-duck session before Trump and a Republican Senate majority take office in January.
“In President Biden’s single term, he has tied the number of AANHPI judges confirmed under the five terms of Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “Thirty-nine AANHPIs to Article III judges have been confirmed since 2021, and 69 AANHPI active Article III judges are serving.”