Judge Mustafa Kasubhai’s Historic Confirmation Improves Our Judiciary

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

WASHINGTON — Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an advisor at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the Senate confirmed Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon:

“The Leadership Conference celebrates the long-awaited confirmation of Judge Mustafa Kasubhai. Judge Kasubhai possesses significant experience defending and protecting the rights of working people and, as a fair-minded magistrate judge, has been deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and fairness in his courtroom. He also makes history as the first Asian American lifetime judge and first Muslim lifetime judge on the District of Oregon. This personal and professional diversity strengthens our democracy by improving judicial decision-making and allows more people to see themselves reflected and represented in the courtroom.

“We thank President Biden and Senators Merkley and Wyden for their leadership and applaud all senators who supported Judge Kasubhai’s confirmation. The Senate must continue the urgent and important work of building an equal justice judiciary that works for all people in America, and that means expeditiously confirming every pending judicial nominee. Our courts and our future can’t wait.”

Judge Mustafa Kasubhai is the third Muslim lifetime judge in our nation’s history and the 38th AANHPI lifetime judge confirmed during the Biden administration. Adeel Mangi, whose nomination to the Third Circuit is pending before the Senate, would be the first Muslim federal appellate judge in our nation’s history. Amir Ali, whose nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is also pending before the Senate with votes expected this week, would be the first Muslim lifetime judge on that court. Earlier in the Biden administration, Judge Zahid Quraishi (District of New Jersey) and Judge Nusrat Choudhury (Eastern District of New York) became the first two Muslim lifetime judges in our nation’s history.

Read The Leadership Conference’s letter in support of the confirmation of Judge Mustafa Kasubhai. The Leadership Conference previously published a blog highlighting Judge Kasubhai’s incredible dedication to making our judiciary more inclusive, which is available here.

On Friday, The Leadership Conference, joined by 140+ other national organizations, wrote to senators urging them to confirm all pending judicial nominees before the end of the Biden administration. The letter is available here.

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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