President Joe Biden released his nominations for Federal Circuit and District Court judges on Tuesday morning (March 30). The list of 11 nominees includes three Black women, the first Muslim American district judge, and the first Asian American woman to sit on the DC federal district court.
“These nominees consist of attorneys who have excelled in the legal field in a wide range of positions, including as renowned jurists, public defenders, prosecutors, in the private sector, in the military, and as public servants at all levels of government,” the White House said in a statement.
On the list is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who, if confirmed, would replace now-Attorney General Merrick Garland on the US Court of Appeals.
Tiffany Cunningham and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi were selected to sit on the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and for the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, respectively. Both Jackson and Cunningham earned their law degrees from Harvard University. Judge Jackson-Akiwumi earned hers from Yale School of Law.
With Biden’s nomination, Judge Florence Pan would become the first Asian American judge to be on the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Zahid N. Quraishi would be the first Muslim American to serve as a federal district court judge.
“This trailblazing slate of nominees draws from the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession. 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,” Biden said in White House’s statement.
Photo Credit: Getty Images