AFJ Letter of Support for Mustafa Kasubhai

The Honorable Richard Durbin
Chairman
Senate Judiciary Committee

Dear Chairman Durbin:

On behalf of the Alliance for Justice (AFJ), a national association representing more than 150 public interest and civil rights organizations, I am delighted to write in support of the confirmation of United States Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.

A former litigator with a long record of public service, Judge Kasubhai will bring key professional and demographic diversity to our courts. He will be the first Muslim American on the Oregon District Court and only the third Muslim judge to serve on a federal district court. Moreover, he will be one of just a few federal judges with plaintiff-side labor law experience.

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Oregon School of Law, Judge Kasubhai began his legal career in plaintiff-side labor law at the Law Offices of Rasmussen, Tyler & Mundorff. He then co-founded a firm, Kasubhai & Sánchez, where he continued that work. In 2000, Judge Kasubhai went into solo, private practice, focusing on Oregon workers with employment discrimination, workers’ compensation, and tort law grievances.

In 2003, Judge Kasubhai went from practicing before the Workers’ Compensation Board to serving on that board. Four years later, he was nominated by Governor Ted Kulongoski to serve on the Oregon State Circuit Court. As a state court judge, Judge Kasubhai presided over more than 500 trials covering diverse state law issues. In 2018, Judge Kasubhai was selected by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to serve as a federal magistrate judge for that court.

Judge Kasubhai has received recognition both nationally and at home in Oregon. In 2018, he was awarded the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association for “displaying tenacity, vision, creativity, and courage.” The Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association awarded Judge Kasubhai the Justice Lynn Nakamoto Trailblazer Award in 2018 while in 2022 the Oregon State Bar conferred on him the Wallace P. Carson, Jr. Award for Judicial Excellence. These accolades testify to the significance and extent of Judge Kasubhai’s contributions to the field of law.

We urge your office to ensure the Senate moves quickly to confirm Judge Kasubhai. Judge Kasubhai will not just make history in Oregon by joining the district court but will secure to Oregonians an experienced, knowledgeable jurist with deep ties to the community.

Sincerely,

Rakim Brooks
President, Alliance for Justice