Thread by @RewireNewsGroup

🧵The federal bench looks a little different after Congress confirmed nine Biden-nominated judges to the federal judiciary this year—four of whom are Black women. Plus, two LGBTQ nominees are awaiting confirmation.

That’s a big deal. Let's get into it:

Until this year, only 8 Black women have been federal appeals court judges.

But as you may remember, our own @AngryBlackLady deemed 2021 the year of the Black lady lawyer.
rewirenewsgroup.com/ablc/2021/04/0…

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is the second Black woman to sit on the DC Circuit. She’s a former federal public defender who was nominated to fill Merrick Garland’s vacancy after he was chosen to head @TheJusticeDept.

While a district court judge, Jackson oversaw a number of high-profile cases, including one regarding Trump’s White House counsel.

In her opinion, she famously declared, “presidents are not kings.”

Check it out ⬇️
s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6560…

Next, there’s Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, who is the only person of color on the Seventh Circuit. She’s another former federal public defender.

“If I were confirmed as a judge, I could serve as a role model for any number of people coming behind me, and that’s not limited to people of the same race or same gender.” —Jackson-Akiwumi during her confirmation hearing

Judge Tiffany Cunningham is the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

She has around two decades of experience as a litigator. She also holds a chemical engineering degree from MIT.

There’s also Judge Eunice Lee, a longtime public defender and now the second Black woman to sit on the Second Circuit.

Her confirmation this month makes her the only former federal public defender among the Second Circuit’s 10 active judges.

In more historic firsts, Biden's latest round of judicial nominees included two queer women:

Justice Beth Robinson of the Vermont Supreme Court was nominated this month for the Second Circuit. She’d be the first out lesbian to serve on any federal appeals court

Before joining her state’s supreme court, Robinson represented LGBTQ people in civil rights cases and worked to lead the movement for marriage equality in Vermont.

And Charlotte Sweeney, a gay woman, was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. She’s a partner in a practice focused on employment law and has been a leader in pushing for equal pay.

Biden promised his nominations to the federal bench would make the justice system a more diverse and equitable place, and so far he has kept his word.

We’ll be keeping an eye on future nominations to make sure that doesn’t change.