AFJ Applauds White House Pace Of Naming Judicial Nominees 

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 27, 2022 – This morning the Biden administration announced its 17th slate of extremely well-qualified judicial nominees. This is the second slate of nominees it has announced this month alone. The latest slate continues the Biden administration’s commitment to selecting highly qualified individuals with diverse professional backgrounds to serve on our nation’s courts. 

This seventeenth slate of nominees is composed entirely of women, and they will bring significant professional diversity to the bench. Notably, both circuit court nominees, Judge Sarah A.L. Merriam (Second Circuit) and Lara E. Montecalvo (First Circuit), bring experience as public defenders, as does Judge Elizabeth Hanes, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. With these nominees, President Biden has nominated public defenders to the bench on 26 occasions, including Judge Merriam’s previous nomination. 

Ana Reyes, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, would be the first Hispanic woman and first openly LGBTQ+ person to ever serve on that court. 

Alliance for Justice Senior Legislative Counsel Kimberly Humphrey issued the following statement: 

“It is encouraging to see that President Biden is committed to nominating judges at a historic pace given the importance of filling every judicial vacancy by the end of the year. Given the previous administration’s propensity for nominating men, a slate composed entirely of women honors a commitment to courts that look like the people they serve. These nominees have stellar and robust qualifications. Their service to the legal profession and the diversity they add to the federal bench is exactly what our country needs. We look forward to seeing a dozen more slates like today’s before the year is over.”