In the devastating wake of multiple mass shootings recently, all eyes are on whether our elected leaders will come together to act on gun violence prevention. As we also wait for additional big decisions to come down from the Supreme Court this month, including the New York license-to-carry case, the impact of our highest court on our daily lives has never been clearer. Thankfully, however, on the consistent business of judicial nominations is a more certain thing. And recent events underscore the importance of bold nominations – attorneys committed to equal justice.
We are at 66 circuit and district court confirmations thus far, which includes far more women and former public defenders than any other Administration in recent history. This is wonderful news, but we can’t stop there. We must close the second half of the year even stronger. We need more judges with a background in economic justice, disability rights, and climate justice. We need more judges from underrepresented ethnicities, especially Latinos/Latinas. We continue to push for judges with a demonstrated commitment to everyday Americans because we see how essential these choices are to our rights.
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The Good News: Nominations Continue
Last week, President Biden announced three highly qualified women nominees to the nation’s circuit courts, bringing the number of announced judicial nominees to 98. These nominees bring us one step closer to filling our courts with judges who look like America and who are committed to equal justice for all. They include:
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Doris Pryor, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana since 2018. Before joining the bench, Judge Pryor served as both a prosecutor and public defender. If confirmed to the Seventh Circuit, she would be the first judge of color to ever serve on the court from Indiana.
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Rachel Bloomekatz, nominated to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, is an experienced appellate attorney who has fought for workers, consumers, gun safety, and the environment. She has also served in government at multiple levels, including as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and as an Assistant Attorney General in Massachusetts.
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Pay Attention: Confirmation News On May 25, 2022, we celebrated the confirmation of two more historic judges who were nominated last year: Evelyn Padin (District of New Jersey) and Charlotte Sweeney (District of Colorado). Several more nominees are expected to have their final votes next week, including a few phenomenal civil rights attorneys: -
Nina Morrison, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, has worked at the Innocence Project since 2002 defending the rights of those wrongfully convicted. Previously, she was a civil rights attorney in private practice and worked as a contract attorney with the ACLU. If confirmed, Morrison would be only the second openly LGBTQ+ judge to sit on this court.
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Natasha Merle, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is the Deputy Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), where she has worked since 2016. She has dedicated her career to defending the rights of all people, including as a public defender. If confirmed, Merle would be the first Black woman public defender to ever serve on this court.
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