Amir Ali’s Commitment to Equal Justice Will Strengthen Our Judiciary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McNeil, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on several judicial nominees, including the nomination of Amir Ali to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia:

“Today’s hearing demonstrated what we’ve long known: Diverse civil rights lawyers are highly qualified for the federal bench. This is particularly true of Amir Ali, whose tremendous legal career, including his extensive work protecting the rights of people involved in the criminal-legal system, has had a profound impact on the lives of people in America. Throughout his career, he has shown a deep commitment to equal justice that is needed on our federal courts. When confirmed, Mr. Ali will bring important perspectives to the judiciary as the first Arab American judge and first Muslim judge to serve a lifetime appointment on this court. These crucial professional and lived experiences represent the kind of critically needed judicial diversity that we know helps to build public trust in our courts, improve judicial decision-making, and strengthen our democracy.

“We thank Chair Durbin for holding today’s hearing and urge the full Senate to swiftly move forward on Mr. Ali’s nomination. Much more progress is needed to build an equal justice judiciary that works for everyone, and confirming Mr. Ali is a necessary step toward ensuring that our courts truly reflect and represent the diversity of our nation.”

Read The Leadership Conference’s letter in support of Amir Ali.

The Senate Judiciary Committee considered additional historic nominees today, including Judge Melissa DuBose, who would be the first lifetime judge of color and first openly LGBTQ lifetime judge on the District of Rhode Island, and Jasmine Yoon, who would be the first lifetime judge of color on the Western District of Virginia and the first Asian American lifetime judge on any federal district court in Virginia. Judge DuBose and Ms. Yoon will integrate two of the 25 federal district courts that have never had a non-white lifetime judge.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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