US President Joe Biden’s diverse nominations reflect advances in the legal industry in including women, minorities and people from non-traditional backgrounds in leadership roles.
Read on for a quick rundown of who the nominees are and what you need to know.
Who are the new U.S. justice candidates?
Biden’s first eleven candidates for federal district and appeals courts marked a clear departure from former US President Donald Trump’s 221 judicial officers, who were predominantly white, relatively young, and male
In contrast, Biden has nominated nine women, including three black women, and two men to fill vacancies in court. If so confirmed, some of its nominees would mark historic novelties: the first Muslim woman to serve as federal district judge, the first Asian American woman to join the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the first woman of color to sat on the federal bank in Maryland, according to the White House. Nominees also bring a variety of legal experience, including public defense
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Nominated for: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Current role: U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia
Notable work experience: Former criminal defense attorney; former deputy federal defender; former legal advisor to the criminal commission
Tiffany Cunningham
Nominated for: U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
Current role: Partner at Perkins Coie LLP in Chicago
Expertise: Litigation and appointment advisor in complex patent and trade secret disputes
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
Nominated for: Seventh US Court of Appeals
Current role: Partner at Zuckerman Spaeder LLP in Washington, DC
Expertise: Complex civil litigation, commercial criminal law and investigations
Notable work experience: Former Federal Defender Program attorney in the Northern District of Illinois
Deborah Boardman
Nominated for: US District Court for the Maryland District
Current role: U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Maryland
Notable work experience: Federal defender
Lydia Griggsby
Nominated for: US District Court for the Maryland District
Current role: Judge in the US Court of Federal Claims
Notable work experience: Chief Privacy and Information Policy Attorney and Privacy Advisor to Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont
Julien Neals
Nominated for: US District Court for the New Jersey District
Current role: County Counsel to the Acting County Administrator for Bergen County, New Jersey
Notable work experience: Former US attorney prosecuting murders, other violent crimes, organized crime, and drug trafficking and former assistant chief of appeals
Florence Y. Pan
Nominated for: US District Court for the District of Columbia
Current role: Associate Justice of the District of Columbia Supreme Court
Notable work experience: Former US attorney prosecuting murders, other violent crimes, organized crime, and drug trafficking and former assistant chief of appeals
Zahid N. Quraishi
Nominated for: US District Court for the New Jersey District
Current role: U.S. District Court Judge for the New Jersey District
Notable work experience: U.S. Assistant Attorney and Attorney General for the U.S. District Court for the New Jersey District
Regina Rodriguez
Nominated for: U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Current role: Partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Denver
Expertise: Complex litigation and regulatory investigations
Margaret Strickland
Nominated for: U.S. District Court for the New Mexico District
Current role: Partner at McGraw & Strickland LLC in Las Cruces, New Mexico
Expertise: Civil rights and criminal defense cases in state and federal courts in New Mexico
Notable work experience: President of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association from 2017-2019
Rupa Ranga Puttagunta
Nominated for: District of Columbia Supreme Court
Current role: Administrative Judge for the DC Rental Housing Commission
Notable work experience: Needy criminal defense
Diversity, equity and inclusion are important in the judiciary
The 11 nominations are just the first in a row, filling 68 court openings, and another 26 that The New York Times predicts will become vacant later this year
If that first round of nominations sets the tone for the rest, Biden’s appointments could help fuel efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession.
Learn about the importance of diversity in the legal profession.
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