On October 25th, 2021, Myrna Pérez, a voting rights expert, made history as the first civil rights lawyer confirmed to a federal appellate court under the Biden administration.

A week later, Beth Robinson, a celebrated civil rights attorney and former Vermont Supreme Court justice, joined Pérez on the Second Circuit. In the subsequent months, Jennifer Sung and former NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund lawyer Judge Holly Thomas, both diverse and accomplished, secured seats on the Ninth Circuit.

These four women—representing Latina, LGBTQ, Asian American, and Black perspectives—were confirmed in a span of 90 days. Their appointments hold significance for the judiciary and our democracy.  The Senate has confirmed 140 lifetime judges since 2021, with significant female and women of color representation.

The following list is reproduced from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Phenomenal Women Are Improving the Federal Bench.  We’re Pushing for More (August 23, 2023), available at: https://civilrights.org/blog/phenomenal-women-are-improving-the-federal-bench-were-pushing-for-more/

Confirmed Women Judges: Milestones and Historic Firsts

U.S. Supreme Court

  • Justice KETANJI BROWN JACKSON (U.S. Supreme Court; elevated from D.C. Circuit), first Black woman and first former public defender on U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals

  • Judge NANCY ABUDU (Eleventh Circuit), first Black woman and first Black judge from Georgia on Eleventh Circuit
  • Judge DEANDREA BENJAMIN (Fourth Circuit), first Black woman from South Carolina on Fourth Circuit
  • Judge CINDY CHUNG (Third Circuit), first Asian American judge on Third Circuit
  • Judge TIFFANY CUNNINGHAM (Federal Circuit), first Black judge on Federal Circuit
  • Judge STEPHANIE DAVIS (Sixth Circuit), first Black woman from Michigan on Sixth Circuit
  • Judge ROOPALI DESAI (Ninth Circuit), first South Asian judge on Ninth Circuit
  • Judge DANA DOUGLAS (Fifth Circuit), first woman of color on Fifth Circuit
  • Judge ARIANNA FREEMAN (Third Circuit), first woman of color on Third Circuit
  • Judge CANDACE JACKSON-AKIWUMI (Seventh Circuit), first former public defender and second judge of color on Seventh Circuit
  • Judge LUCY KOH (Ninth Circuit), first Korean American woman on any federal appellate court
  • Judge TAMIKA MONTGOMERY-REEVES (Third Circuit), first woman of color from Delaware on Third Circuit
  • Judge ALISON NATHAN (Second Circuit), second openly LGBTQ woman on any federal appellate court
  • Judge FLORENCE PAN (D.C. Circuit; elevated from District of D.C.), first AAPI woman to serve as lifetime judge on D.C. district court
  • Judge DORIS PRYOR (Seventh Circuit), first Black judge from Indiana on Seventh Circuit
  • Judge JULIE RIKELMAN (First Circuit), first Jewish woman and first immigrant woman on First Circuit
  • Judge BETH ROBINSON (Second Circuit), first openly LGBTQ woman on any federal appellate court
  • Judge JENNIFER SUNG (Ninth Circuit), first Asian American judge from Oregon on Ninth Circuit
  • Judge HOLLY THOMAS (Ninth Circuit), first Black woman from California on Ninth Circuit

U.S. District Courts

  • Judge AMANDA BRAILSFORD (District of Idaho), first woman to serve as lifetime judge on District of Idaho
  • Judge VICTORIA CALVERT (Northern District of Georgia), first former public defender to serve as lifetime judge on Northern District of Georgia
  • Judge NUSRAT CHOUDHURY (Eastern District of New York), first Muslim woman and first Bangladeshi American to serve as lifetime judge on any federal court
  • Judge ANA DE ALBA (Eastern District of California), first Latina to serve as lifetime judge on Eastern District of California. Judge de Alba has been nominated to Ninth Circuit
  • Judge LYDIA GRIGGSBY (District of Maryland), first woman of color to serve as lifetime judge on District of Maryland
  • Judge MARGARET GUZMAN (District of Massachusetts), first Latina to serve as lifetime judge on District of Massachusetts
  • Judge LAUREN KING (Western District of Washington), first Native American to serve as lifetime judge in Washington
  • Judge SHALINA KUMAR (Eastern District of Michigan), first South Asian to serve as lifetime judge on any Michigan district court
  • Judge TANA LIN (Western District of Washington), first Asian American to serve as lifetime judge in Washington
  • Judge NANCY MALDONADO (Northern District of Illinois), first Latina to serve as lifetime judge in Illinois
  • Judge GINA MÉNDEZ-MIRÓ (District of Puerto Rico), first openly LGBTQ lifetime judge on any federal court in First Circuit
  • Judge SARALA NAGALA (District of Connecticut), first South Asian to serve as lifetime judge on District of Connecticut
  • Judge ADRIENNE NELSON (District of Oregon), first woman of color to serve as lifetime judge on District of Oregon
  • Judge JINSOOK OHTA (Southern District of California), first Asian American woman to serve as lifetime judge on Southern District of California
  • Judge MIA PEREZ (Eastern District of Pennsylvania), first Asian American to serve as lifetime judge on Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Judge ANA REYES (District of D.C.), first Latina and first openly LGBTQ lifetime judge on District of D.C.
  • Judge REGINA RODRIGUEZ (District of Colorado), first Asian American to serve as lifetime judge on Colorado district court
  • Judge CHARLOTTE SWEENEY (District of Colorado), first openly LGBTQ woman to serve as lifetime judge on any federal court west of the Mississippi River
  • Judge SUNSHINE SYKES (Central District of California), first Native American to serve as lifetime judge on any California district court

https://civilrights.org/blog/phenomenal-women-are-improving-the-federal-bench-were-pushing-for-more/