AFJ Applauds Biden’s Eighth Slate Of Judicial Nominees

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 30, 2021 – President Biden announced a new slate of highly qualified judicial nominees to the federal bench today. The ten district court nominees represent the eighth slate of judicial nominees President Biden has announced so far this year, as the White House and Senate Democrats continue their record-setting pace for expeditiously filling crucial judicial vacancies across the United States.  

Several of the new nominees represent historic firsts and, if confirmed, the new judges will bring critically important demographic and professional diversity to the federal bench. For instance: 

• Six of President Biden’s ten nominees are women; 
• Seven of the ten nominees are people of color;  
• Three of the ten nominees represent historic firsts as the only Black, Latinx, or AAPI judges in their respective states or districts (David Ruiz, Sam Ohta and John Chun); 
• Four of the ten nominees have experience as public defenders; and 
• Three of the ten nominees have experience as civil rights attorneys. 

President Biden’s slate also includes civil rights and voting rights expert Dale Ho, who has been nominated as a district court judge for the Southern District of New York. He has argued in courts across the country, including in the Supreme Court, and has spent his career working to ensure every American can have an equal voice in our democracy.

Today’s announcement also included four nominees to the District of Columbia’s local courts, which notably included three women and three individuals with experience as civil rights attorneys. 

Alliance for Justice President Rakim Brooks issued the following statement: 

“President Biden and Senate Democrats are to be applauded for, once again, delivering for the American people. Alliance for Justice has emphasized for decades that our justice system is at its strongest when our courts reflect our nation’s rich ethnic, racial, gender, and religious diversity, and include important legal expertise in areas like civil rights, immigration, and criminal defense. President Biden and Senate Democrats have heard our plea and the nation is better for it. Our judiciary will be better equipped to live up to its promise of equal justice under law once voting rights champion Dale Ho and the others announced today are confirmed.”