An Overview of the First 200 Lifetime Judicial Confirmations During the Biden Administration

Courts Resources 05.22.24

With the confirmation of Judge Angela Martinez to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, the Senate has reached 200 lifetime judicial confirmations during the Biden administration. President Biden’s appointees have been historically diverse — both personally and professionally — and have included brilliant jurists like Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who the Senate confirmed in 2022 as the first Black woman and first former public defender to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Jackson’s historic confirmation matters tremendously for the future of equal justice in America. But President Biden’s appointees to federal circuit and district courts — including Justice Jackson’s previous confirmation to the D.C. Circuit — also deserve recognition for the underrepresented legal backgrounds and lived experiences they bring to our federal judiciary. We celebrate this long overdue and important progress and thank President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Durbin for their leadership.

These lifetime judges will decide important issues — from voting rights to equal pay to health care access. Still, there remains so much at stake, and we urge President Biden and all senators to fill the remaining judicial vacancies with diverse nominees committed to civil and human rights. Time is of the essence.

Lifetime judicial confirmations during the Biden administration:

The Senate has confirmed 200 lifetime judges during the Biden administration: one Supreme Court justice, 42 circuit court judges, 155 district court judges, and two Court of International Trade judges. The Court of International Trade confirmations are reflected below in the overall statistics, but they are excluded from the circuit court/district court figures since the Court of International Trade is a Court of Special Jurisdiction.

Overall

  • Professional diversity: More than 40 percent of lifetime confirmations (85) have been individuals who were public defenders or civil rights lawyers (or both) or who otherwise dedicated a significant portion of their careers to protecting people’s civil and human rights.
  • 127 confirmations of women, or nearly two-thirds of all lifetime confirmations.
  • 79 confirmations of women of color, including Native American and Native Hawaiian women (about 40 percent of all lifetime confirmations).
  • 125 confirmations of people of color, including Native Americans and Native Hawaiians (nearly two-thirds of all lifetime confirmations).
  • Black judges: President Biden has appointed 58 Black lifetime judges (nearly 30 percent of all lifetime confirmations), including 37 Black women.
  • Native American judges: President Biden has appointed four Native American lifetime judges, including the first Native American lifetime judges in Maryland, Washington state, and California, and the first Native American woman to serve as a lifetime judge in Oklahoma. Half of all Native American lifetime judges in our nation’s history have been appointed by President Biden. To date, a Native American judge has never served on a federal appellate court. Danna Jackson, nominated to the District of Montana, would be the first Native American lifetime judge in the state.
  • Latino/a judges: President Biden has appointed 36 Latino/a lifetime judges, including 20 Latina judges.
  • Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) judges: President Biden has appointed 35 AANHPI lifetime judges, including 23 AANHPI women. In November 2023 the Senate confirmed Judge Shanlyn Park, who became the first Native Hawaiian woman to ever serve as a lifetime federal judge.
  • Openly LGBTQ judges: President Biden has appointed 11 openly LGBTQ lifetime judges, tying President Obama’s record for openly LGBTQ lifetime judicial appointments.
  • Judges with disabilities: President Biden has appointed at least two lifetime judges (Jamal Whitehead and Rita Lin) who are known to be living with a disability.

Circuit courts

The Senate has confirmed 42 circuit court judges during the Biden administration.

  • Women judges: Nearly three-fourths (30) of confirmed circuit court judges are women, and half of all confirmed circuit court judges (21) are women of color.
  • Judges of color: Nearly two-thirds (27) of confirmed circuit court judges are people of color.
  • Black judges: 14 confirmed circuit court judges are Black, including 13 Black women. Before President Biden, only eight Black women had ever served at this level of our federal judiciary.
  • Latino/a judges: Seven confirmed circuit court judges are Latino/a, including three Latina judges. Judge Nancy Maldonado, nominated to the Seventh Circuit, would be the first Latino/a judge to serve on that court.
  • AANHPI judges: Six confirmed circuit court judges are AANHPI, including five AANHPI women.
  • Openly LGBTQ judges: Three confirmed circuit court judges are openly LGBTQ. President Biden appointed the first openly LGBTQ woman to serve on any federal appellate court — Judge Beth Robinson (Second Circuit). He later appointed Judge Alison Nathan, who is also openly LGBTQ, to the same court. In March 2024, Nicole Berner became the first openly LGBTQ judge on the Fourth Circuit.
  • Professional diversity: Nearly three-fourths (30) of confirmed circuit court judges bring important legal backgrounds either as former public defenders or civil rights lawyers (or both), or have otherwise dedicated a significant portion of their careers to protecting people’s civil and human rights (11 have public defender experience specifically).

District courts

The Senate has confirmed 155 district court judges during the Biden administration.

  • Women judges: 95 confirmed district court judges are women (more than 60 percent of confirmed district court judges). This includes 56 women of color, including Native American and Native Hawaiian women.
  • Judges of color: 96 confirmed district court judges are people of color (more than 60 percent), including Native American and Native Hawaiian judges.
  • Black judges: 43 confirmed district court judges are Black (more than one quarter), including 23 Black women.
  • Latino/a judges: 29 confirmed district court judges are Latino/a (nearly 20 percent), including 17 Latina judges.
  • AANHPI judges: 28 confirmed district court judges are AANHPI (nearly 20 percent), including 17 AANHPI women.
  • Native American judges: Four confirmed district court judges are Native American, and they are all women.
  • Openly LGBTQ judges: Eight confirmed district court judges are openly LGBTQ people, including five openly LGBTQ women.
  • Professional diversity: 54 confirmed district court judges bring important legal backgrounds either as former public defenders or civil rights lawyers (or both), or have otherwise dedicated a significant portion of their careers to protecting people’s civil and human rights.

In order to build a judiciary dedicated to equal justice, we must ensure that all federal judicial vacancies are filled with qualified nominees committed to civil and human rights. The Senate must confirm the exceptional nominees who are pending, including:

Confirmed judges supported by The Leadership Conference:

Supreme Court

Circuit Court

  • Nancy Abudu, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Georgia)
  • Nicole Berner, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Maryland)
  • Rachel Bloomekatz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Ohio)
  • J. Michelle Childs, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  • Cindy Chung, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Pennsylvania)
  • Stephanie Davis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Michigan)
  • Ana de Alba, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (California)
  • Roopali Desai, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Arizona)
  • Arianna Freeman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Pennsylvania)
  • Brad Garcia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  • Gustavo Gelpí, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Puerto Rico)
  • Ketanji Brown Jackson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  • Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Illinois)
  • Lucy Koh, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (California)
  • Eunice Lee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York)
  • John Lee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Illinois)
  • Salvador Mendoza, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Washington)
  • Sarah Merriam, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Connecticut)
  • Lara Montecalvo, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Rhode Island)
  • Alison Nathan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York)
  • Myrna Pérez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York)
  • Julie Rikelman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Massachusetts)
  • Beth Robinson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Vermont)
  • Veronica Rossman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Colorado)
  • Jennifer Sung, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Oregon)
  • Holly Thomas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (California)

District Court

  • Daniel Calabretta, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • Tiffany Cartwright, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • Nusrat Choudhury, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • Jessica Clarke, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • Jia Cobb, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • Jeffrey Cummings, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • Susan DeClercq, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • David Estudillo, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • Margaret Garnett, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • Sarah Geraghty, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
  • Margaret Guzman, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • Elizabeth Hanes, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • Sara Hill, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
  • Dale Ho, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • Kelley Hodge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Myong Joun, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • Lauren King, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • Eumi Lee, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • Rita Lin, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • Tana Lin, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • Nancy Maldonado, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • Araceli Martínez-Olguín, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • Natasha Merle, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • Nina Morrison, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • Michael Nachmanoff, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • Adrienne Nelson, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
  • Shanlyn Park, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii
  • Mia Perez, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Casey Pitts, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • Mónica Ramírez Almadani, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • Kai Scott, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Margaret Strickland, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
  • Charlotte Sweeney, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • David Urias, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
  • Hernán Vera, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • Jamal Whitehead, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington