The Leadership Conference Commends Confirmation of Sparkle Sooknanan

Courts News 12.3.24

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 Sparkle Sooknanan to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia:

“The Leadership Conference applauds all senators who voted today to confirm Sparkle Sooknanan to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Sooknanan’s impressive pro bono and public service experience — including critically important work protecting our communities and enforcing civil rights laws at the U.S. Department of Justice — powerfully demonstrates her commitment to equal justice, dedication to civil rights, and respect for the rule of law, which are greatly needed in our judiciary. At just 16, Ms. Sooknanan immigrated on her own to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago to attend college. Today, her long-awaited confirmation adds severely underrepresented Indo-Caribbean representation to the federal bench.

“We thank President Biden for nominating Ms. Sooknanan and for his dedication to ensuring our federal courts work for everyone. As we near the end of his administration, the Senate must continue its vital work to ensure all remaining judicial nominees, including all circuit court nominees, are confirmed. Our democracy depends on the confirmation of highly qualified and fair-minded judges who are committed to upholding the rights of all of us.”

The Leadership Conference supported the confirmation of Sparkle Sooknanan, who is now the 41st AANHPI lifetime judge confirmed during the Biden administration.

The Leadership Conference, joined by 150+ other national organizations, wrote to senators urging them to confirm all pending judicial nominees before the end of the Biden administration.

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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