May 12, 2021 ICYMI: President Biden’s Historic Third Slate of Judicial Nominees

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 12, 2021     ICYMI: President Biden’s Historic Third Slate of Judicial Nominees   Today, President Biden announced his intent to nominate three new candidates to the Court of Appeals and three candidates to the District Court.   These highly-qualified candidates embody President Biden’s commitment to ensure that his judicial nominees represent not only the excellence but the diversity of our nation with respect to both personal and professional backgrounds.   This is the third judicial nominations announcement made by the President, and these nominations will bring the full number of judicial nominees made during this administration to 20.   President Biden has spent decades committed to strengthening the federal bench, which is why he continues to move at a historically fast pace with respect to judicial nominations.   See below for coverage highlights of today’s announcement:   USA Today: Biden names new federal judges, including a Bush nominee, with an emphasis on diversity “President Joe Biden announced a new round of judicial nominations Wednesday that underscored the administration's push to expand diversity on the federal bench as the White House moves rapidly to put its own stamp on the judiciary.   Among the new federal judge candidates Biden will be sending to the Senate for confirmation: the first Native American federal judge in Washington State; the second judge from Puerto Rico to sit on the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit; and the second Black woman to serve on the New York-based 2nd Circuit.”   Rep. Nydia Velazquez: “Judge Gelpí has led a distinguished legal career, and is widely regarded by several political factions in Puerto Rico as a fair and impartial jurist.” Rep. Raul Grijalva: “The Biden administration deserves recognition for nominating a judge who has both denounced the racist underpinnings of the Insular Cases and criticized the Supreme Court and Congress for denying U.S. citizens residing in the territories the legal rights the rest of us take for granted," Grijalva said in a statement. "Judge Gelpí has been a leader in correctly interpreting relevant federal law consistent with the Constitution, which has gone a long way toward ending these injustices.” Reuters: Biden latest judicial picks stress public defender work “Progressives and judicial reform proponents have long called for more judges on the federal bench with backgrounds as public defenders. More often, judges have tended former prosecutors or defense attorneys from major law firms. "President Biden has made clear that the days of public defenders being systematically passed over for top jobs on the federal bench are over," Christopher Kang, the chief counsel of the progressive group Demand Justice, said in a statement. He said no president has before nominated so many circuit judges with experience as public defenders. All five of Biden's nominations so far to the regional circuit courts have had such experience, and three spent the majority of the careers in such positions.”   CBS News: Biden rolls out latest slate of judicial nominees “President Biden on Wednesday announced a third wave of judicial nominees, continuing the White House's theme of selecting candidates with diverse backgrounds and professional qualifications as he undertakes an effort to make his own mark on the federal bench reshaped by his predecessor. ‘President Biden has spent decades committed to strengthening the federal bench, which is why he continues to move at a historically fast pace with respect to judicial nominations,’ the White House said. ‘His first announcement of candidates for the judiciary was made faster than any that of any new president in modern American history, and today's announcement further continues that trend.’”   CNN: Biden announces third slate of judicial nominees “Gelpí received the backing of two Democratic members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez and Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva.   Velazquez, who used to chair the caucus, praised Gelpí as "a strong defender of civil rights and of the people of Puerto Rico" and urged the Senate to quickly confirm his nomination. She noted Gelpí would be just the second Hispanic judge to serve on the First Circuit.   Grijalva commended the Biden administration for "nominating a judge who has both denounced the racist underpinnings of the Insular Cases and criticized the Supreme Court and Congress for denying U.S. citizens residing in the Territories the legal rights the rest of us take for granted."   Bloomberg Law: Biden’s Latest Judicial Picks Include Three Public Defenders "The nominees announced Wednesday are in line with Biden’s promise to select judges that would diversify the federal courts in terms of gender, race and ethnicity, and job experience. Five of the six intended picks are women, at least five are people of color."   National Law Journal: Biden Broadens Push to Put More Public Defenders on Appeals Courts “President Biden has made clear that the days of public defenders being systematically passed over for top jobs on the federal bench are over,’ said Christopher Kang, chief counsel for the progressive group Demand Justice.”   The Grio: Biden presents new list of federal judicial nominees, including 3 Black women “The pool of hopefuls brings forth the diversity and experience this administration has championed from the onset. Among the six nominees, one could become the first Black judge in the Camden courthouse of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.”