Support the Confirmation of Rachel Bloomekatz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Dear Senator:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 230 national organizations committed to promoting and protecting the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, we write to express our strong support for the confirmation of Rachel Bloomekatz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Ms. Bloomekatz possesses an impressive background protecting the rights of all people and she is extremely qualified to serve on the federal bench. Since 2019, she has been a solo practitioner at Bloomekatz Law LLC. Prior to this she served in numerous roles, including as a principal at Gupta Wessler PLLC, as an associate at Jones Day, and as assistant attorney general of the Government Bureau of the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. Additionally, she has helped to train future lawyers, teaching at The Ohio State Moritz College of Law and Universidad Católica del Uruguay. A graduate of Harvard College and University of California Los Angeles School of Law, she clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Margaret Marshall on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Ms. Bloomekatz has had a distinguished career protecting and advancing civil rights and would bring much needed experience to the Sixth Circuit.
Ms. Bloomekatz’s robust legal portfolio covers a broad array of civil rights law, demonstrating incredible breadth and depth when it comes to issues such as voting rights, criminal-legal matters, consumer protections, and more. For example, she has defended the freedom to vote and access to the ballot box. In 2016, she successfully challenged the Ohio Secretary of State’s unlawful instruction given to election officials, which stated that people who would turn 18 years old before the general election could not vote in the primary elections. In another case involving the constitutional rights of a child, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed with Ms. Bloomekatz’s Eighth Amendment challenge of a 112-year sentence without the possibility of parole given to Brandon Moore, who was 15 years old at the time of sentencing. In 2020, she successfully represented parents who challenged a dangerous school board policy that would allow teachers and other school staff to carry firearms without sufficient training. She has also worked to protect consumers, having represented a class of borrowers who were subjected to predatory lending practices in their appeal to the Sixth Circuit, and her victory for the borrowers permitted the case to move forward to be heard on the merits. As this robust experience demonstrates, Ms. Bloomekatz is eminently qualified to serve as a federal judge.
Ms. Bloomekatz is an excellent choice for this position, and we strongly urge the Senate to confirm her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. If you would like to discuss this matter further, please contact Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program, at (202) 466-3311. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Maya Wiley
President & CEO
Jesselyn McCurdy
Executive Vice President of Government Affairs