Latina Judges Are Making History — But Remain Vastly Underrepresented in the Judiciary

Courts Resources 03.8,24

Fifteen years ago this spring, President Barack Obama announced the selection of his first Supreme Court nominee: Justice Sonia Sotomayor. That summer, on the anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the Senate confirmed her as the first Latina, and first woman of color, to serve on our nation’s highest court.

Justice Sotomayor would later recall talking to a friend about the rigors of the confirmation process. Her friend told her: “Sonia, this is not about you. This is about my eight-year-old daughter seeing someone like herself in one of the highest positions in the United States and knowing that she, too, has a chance.”

Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation mattered — and continues to matter — for equal justice in America and for showing young people everywhere what is possible. But in our nation’s history, there have only ever been 58 lifetime confirmations of Latina judges and justices — representing less than 1.5 percent of the roughly 4,000 lifetime jurists who have served. About one third of these confirmations (19) have taken place during the Biden administration, representing historic progress for Latina judicial confirmations. Still, much work remains.

Throughout history:

  • 70 of our 91 Article III district courts (more than three quarters) have never had a Latina lifetime judge.
  • 38 states (more than three quarters) have never had a Latina lifetime district court judge. Latina lifetime district court judges have only served in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas, in addition to D.C. and Puerto Rico.
  • Eight of our 13 federal circuit courts have never had a Latina judge — the First, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and DC Circuits.

President Biden recently nominated Judge Nancy Maldonado, who he previously appointed to serve as the first Latina lifetime judge in Illinois, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. When confirmed, she will be the first Latino/a judge on this court and will bring a wealth of experience in civil rights law with her.

A map showing the states where a Latina lifetime district court judge has never served.

During the Biden administration, we have celebrated the confirmation of incredible Latina judges committed to equal justice, including civil rights lawyers and public defenders. They include: 

Myrna Pérez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York)

  • Judge Myrna Pérez has dedicated her career to the pursuit of equal justice for all and has exceptional experience protecting voting rights. For 15 years, Pérez led the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law’s Voting Rights and Election Program, where she worked to defend the freedom to vote and safeguard our democracy. She is the second Latina to ever serve on the Second Circuit.

Ana de Alba, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California; elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (California)

  • Judge Ana de Alba has impressive judicial and civil rights experience. Her career has been steeped in defending the rights of working people, having litigated numerous complex cases on workplace harassment and discrimination. In addition to her full caseload while in private practice, de Alba established and ran a Workers’ Rights Clinic, which provided free legal services to workers unable to afford an attorney. When she was confirmed in 2022 to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, she became the first lifetime Latina judge on that court.

Mónica Ramírez Almadani, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

  • Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani has displayed an outstanding commitment to equal justice throughout her career. Through her work at the ACLU, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the University of California Irvine School of Law’s Immigrant Rights Clinic, and pro bono legal services organization Public Counsel, she has steadfastly defended the rights of vulnerable communities, including immigrants and those facing discrimination. At the time of her confirmation, Ramírez Almadani was the only Latina serving as a lifetime judge on this court.

Margaret Guzman, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

  • Judge Margaret Guzman has experience as a distinguished jurist with an outstanding commitment to equal justice. She previously served as the first justice for the Ayer District Court and was an associate justice for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Trial Court. Prior to her judicial service, Judge Guzman served for 13 years as a public defender, representing clients who could not afford an attorney and helping them navigate the complex criminal-legal system. She is the first Latina ever to serve on the District of Massachusetts.

Nancy Maldonado, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Illinois)

  • Judge Nancy Maldonado has shown a dedication to the rights of working people and has had an impressive career in employment law. Prior to her confirmation, Maldonado was a partner at Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., specializing in representation for workers facing employment discrimination and other civil rights litigation. Throughout her career, Maldonado defended the rights of migrant farmworkers, including litigating in support of proper overtime compensation and paid rest breaks for workers and challenging unfair labor practices that violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. She also challenged a racially discriminatory tax assessment plan in Cook County that intentionally over-assessed houses in low-income neighborhoods. She is the first Latina to serve as a lifetime federal judge in Illinois.

Araceli Martínez-Olguín, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

  • Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has spent her entire career in pursuit of equal justice for all. She has defended the rights of immigrants in her work at the National Immigration Law Center and Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. Martínez-Olguín also has notable civil rights experience working at the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project and Immigrants’ Rights Project, Legal Aid at Work, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. She is the second Latina ever to serve on the Northern District of California.

Mia Perez, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

  • Judge Mia Perez possesses an outstanding commitment to protecting civil rights, including her experience as a public defender. From 2016 until her confirmation to this court, Perez served as a judge with the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. During her time at Friedman Schuman, she defended the rights of LGBTQ people when she helped pass a local ordinance that prohibited discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Perez began her legal career as a public defender, spending four years as an assistant defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She is the first Asian American judge, and only the second Latina judge, to ever sit on this court.

We are making important progress, but we must not settle for only the progress we have made since the beginning of this administration. With dozens of known judicial vacancies without a named nominee, we need and expect to see senators and President Biden continue to select Latina judicial nominees with a demonstrated commitment to equal justice for all.

Latina lifetime judges confirmed during the Biden administration:

  • Mónica Ramírez Almadani, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • María del R. Antongiorgi-Jordán, U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
  • Jacqueline Becerra, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • Ana de Alba, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California; elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (California)
  • Margaret Guzman, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • Linda Lopez, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • Nancy Maldonado, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Illinois)
  • Araceli Martínez-Olguín, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • Gina Méndez-Miró, U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
  • Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • Evelyn Padin, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • Mia Perez, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Myrna Pérez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York)
  • Irma Ramirez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Texas)
  • Ana Reyes, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • Regina Rodriguez, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
  • Cristina Silva, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
  • Camille Vélez-Rivé, U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico

Federal district courts with NO current or former Latina lifetime judges (entire states bolded):

  • Any Alabama district court (Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama)
  • District of Alaska
  • Any Arkansas district court (Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas)
  • District of Connecticut
  • District of Delaware
  • Northern District of Florida
  • Any Georgia district court (Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Georgia, Middle District of Georgia)
  • District of Hawaii
  • District of Idaho
  • Central District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois
  • Any Indiana district court (Northern District of Indiana, Southern District of Indiana)
  • Any Iowa district court (Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa)
  • District of Kansas
  • Any Kentucky district court (Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky)
  • Any Louisiana district court (Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana)
  • District of Maine
  • District of Maryland
  • Any Michigan district court (Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan)
  • District of Minnesota
  • Any Mississippi district court (Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi)
  • Any Missouri district court (Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri)
  • District of Montana
  • District of Nebraska
  • District of New Hampshire
  • Northern District of New York and Western District New York
  • Any North Carolina district court (Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina)
  • District of North Dakota
  • Any Ohio district court (Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio)
  • Any Oklahoma district court (Eastern District of Oklahoma, Northern District of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma)
  • District of Oregon
  • Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • District of Rhode Island
  • District of South Carolina
  • District of South Dakota
  • Any Tennessee district court (Eastern District of Tennessee, Northern District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee)
  • Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas
  • District of Utah
  • District of Vermont
  • Any Virginia district court (Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia)
  • Any Washington district court (Eastern District of Washington, Western District of Washington)
  • Any West Virginia district court (Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia)
  • Any Wisconsin district court (Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin)
  • District of Wyoming