On January 3rd, the 118th Congress began. With this new Congress comes new opportunities for the Senate to prioritize the confirmation of highly qualified and diverse nominees to the federal bench. Our goals in 2023 are the same as they were last year – to break more records and elevate more equal justice champions to our nation’s district and circuit courts!  

The 118th Congress presents unique circumstances and hope for progress. The 2022 midterms solidified a 51-49 Democratic majority (includes caucusing Independents) in the Senate. With this majority, there will most likely be a slightly larger proportion of Democratic Senators in critical committees, such as the Senate Judiciary Committee. Additionally, the Vice President will no longer be needed to break tie votes. That means the confirmation process for well-qualified, diverse nominees should be smoother – but it doesn’t mean we should ease up on the pressure.  

In the third year of his presidency – when Republicans had a Senate majority just as Democrats do now – the Trump Administration confirmed 100 judges. We’re calling on this Congress and administration to do at least the same. It is more important than ever that we let the Senate know judicial confirmations must be a priority over the next two years!  

The Good News

We are starting 2023 with fresh nominees! Shortly before the end of the year, the administration released the names of six new district court nominees. Here are a couple that we are particularly excited about: 

Marian Gaston (S.D. Cal.): Judge Gaston was a deputy public defender at the San Diego County Office of the Primary Public Defender from 1996 until her judicial appointment in 2015. She is currently a judge of the Superior Court of San Diego County in California.  

Mónica Ramírez Almadani (C.D. Cal.): An advocate for civil rights, Ms. Almadani is Public Counsel’s President and CEO. She was a clinical law professor and co-director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law and has served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. She began her career as a staff attorney with the national legal department of the ACLU, advocating for the rights of underserved communities locally and nationally. 

What's Next

Although the Senate is adjourned until January 23rd, the Senate Judiciary Committee has plans to hit the ground running. We anticipate the first Senate Judiciary Committee hearing of 2023 and of the 118th Congress will be on January 25th. While we don’t know the nominees that will appear just yet, we are already hard at work researching the Biden administration’s latest slate of nominees.  

Also, across the country as state legislators gear up for work, there will be even more opportunities to get engaged in important fights to protect our democracy. AFJ’s Bolder Advocacy program has resources that can help. Our free Practical Guidance resources are designed to help nonprofits determine if lobbying rules in their state might apply to their state or local work, and if they do, how best to navigate them. Bolder Advocacy also offers a free technical assistance hotline where you can contact us with your questions about navigating nonprofit advocacy rules. 

Stay in touch with Alliance for Justice in 2023 to be on top of the latest judicial nominations and confirmations news! 

Donate today to help us keep up The Rush. 

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