Happy Black History Month! Follow AFJ on Instagram to join us in celebrating and spotlighting Black History-makers!
On Tuesday, President Biden delivered his second State of the Union address before Congress, highlighting the progress his administration has achieved in the last two years and outlining the work ahead. Last month, Alliance for Justice issued a similar statement in our End-of-Year Report, which discusses the judicial progress made over the last two years and the challenges we still must meet in order to rebalance our courts.
In the first two years of his administration, President Biden nominated 148 judicial nominees and saw 97 of those nominees confirmed. That is a strong start – but it’s just a start. Despite the many victories of the last two years, such as a record number of Black women appointed to our federal circuit courts and our nation’s first Black woman Supreme Court Justice, there is much more work to be done. In order to restore balance and equality to the courts across America, we must confirm more equal justice judges to fill nearly 120 federal court vacancies.
Let’s heed President Biden’s call from Tuesday night and finish the job! |
The Good News
Today, we saw our first confirmation of 2023 when Judge DeAndrea Benjamin (4th Cir. S.C.) was confirmed on the Senate floor! A lifelong resident of Columbia, South Carolina with deep ties to the community and an extensive career on the bench, Judge Benjamin is the second woman of color to ever serve on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
More confirmations are coming! Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed 15 nominees out of committee and this morning 24 more nominees passed out of committee as well. That means there are now 38 nominees pending on the Senate floor ready for a confirmation vote. This includes notable equal justice champions, such as Dale Ho (S.D. N.Y.), Natasha Merle (E.D. N.Y.), Nancy Abudu (11th Cir. Ga.), Tiffany Cartwright (W.D. Wash.), Rachel Bloomekatz (6th Cir. Ohio), Bradley Garcia (D.C. Cir.), Julie Rikelman (1st Cir. Mass.), Jamal Whitehead (W.D. Wash.), Araceli Martinez-Olguin (N.D. Cal.), and Justice Adrienne Nelson (D. Ore.).
The progress made by the Senate Judiciary Committee over the last two weeks is encouraging. It’s now up to the full Senate to finish the job and confirm these phenomenal nominees. |
Next week the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold the second nominations hearing of 2023. We don’t yet know the nominees who will be in attendance, but with eight nominees awaiting a hearing, including Scott Colom who was first nominated in November of last year, there is no time to waste. Possible nominees include Judge Marian Gaston (S.D. Cal.), a career public defender, and Monica Ramirez Almadani (C.D. Cal.), CEO of the largest pro bono law firm in the United States.
|
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website or have attended one of our events. If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe.
Alliance for Justice
11 Dupont Circle NW
Suite #500
Washington, DC 20036
United States |
|
|
|
