President Biden on Tuesday rolled out his first slate of judicial nominees, announcing candidates with diverse backgrounds and professional qualifications as he begins to make his own stamp on the nation's district and circuit courts (article available here).
Of the president's 11 judicial picks to serve as Federal Circuit and District Court judges, and one to serve as a Superior Court Judge for the District of Columbia, three set to be nominated to the federal district courts would make history if confirmed by the evenly divided the Senate. The White House said the candidates underscore Mr. Biden's commitment to diversity on the federal bench.
"This trailblazing slate of nominees draws from the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession," Mr. Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. "Each is deeply qualified and prepared to deliver justice faithfully under our Constitution and impartially to the American people — and together they represent the broad diversity of background, experience, and perspective that makes our nation strong."
The president intends to nominate three Black women to fill vacancies on a trio of circuit courts: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the District of Columbia Circuit; Tiffany Cunningham to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Federal Circuit; and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Both Jackson and Jackson-Akiwumi worked as public defenders earlier in their legal careers.
The list is a diverse one: It includes three African American women tapped for Circuit Court vacancies and candidates who would be the first Muslim- American federal judge in U.S. history, the first AAPI woman to ever serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of D.C., and the first woman of color to ever serve as a federal judge for the District of Maryland.
In all, nine of the nominees are women, and nine are people of color. Most have diverse legal experience as well, as defense and prosecution lawyers, and in both criminal and civil practice.