On a vote of 60-31, the U.S. Senate confirmed Doris L. Pryor on 05 December 2022 to serve as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Pryor is the ninth Black woman to be confirmed as an appellate court judge during President Joe Biden’s presidency. There are 13 appellate courts.
Prior has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Indiana. She is the first Black judge from Indiana to serve on the appellate court.
Prior to Biden’s term of office (20 January 2021), only eight Black women had served as appellate court judges, according to The 19th. The federal judiciary is 80 percent White; federal judges have tenure for life.
On 21 January 2022, The 19th reported:
The federal appellate courts represent the highest judicial level under the Supreme Court and are the primary selection ground for future Supreme Court justices. Biden’s nominations reflect his intention to diversify the federal bench. By increasing the number of Black women judges in the courts where most justices come from, it also expands the pool of likely candidates for Biden to make good on his campaign promise to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. Biden has already put more Black women to the U.S. Courts of Appeals than any other president.
When the Senate confirmed Judge Doris Pryor last night, she became the ninth Black woman confirmed to a federal circuit court under @POTUS – who has now appointed more than half of all Black women circuit court judges in our nation’s history. #CourtsMatter https://t.co/zifBGvdKP1
— The Leadership Conference (@civilrightsorg) December 6, 2022
Black women confirmed as judges to the United States Courts of Appeals during tenure of President Joe Biden (01 December 2022)
| # | Judge | Circuit | Began active service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candace Jackson-Akiwumi | 7th | IL | July 1, 2021 |
| 2 | Tiffany P. Cunningham | DC | August 6, 2021 | |
| 3 | Eunice C. Lee | 2nd | NY | August 16, 2021 |
| 4 | Holly A. Thomas | 9th | CA | January 24, 2022 |
| 5 | Stephanie D. Davis | 6th | MI | June 14, 2022 |
| 6 | J. Michelle Childs | D.C. | DC | July 25, 2022 |
| 7 | Andre Mathis | 6th | TN | September 27, 2022 |
| 8 | Arianna J. Freeman | 3rd | PA | October 20, 2022 |
The Pew Research Center reported on 13 January 2021 that “Trump appointed 54 federal appellate judges in four years, one short of the 55 Obama appointed in twice as much time.”
Republican presidents tend to appoint fewer women and fewer people of color (POC) to the bench. These are the first seven Black appellate judges listed on Wikipedia:
- Trump – 24% women; 16% POC
- Obama – 42% women; 36% POC
Bernice B. Donald (September 8, 2011) - Bush – 22% women; 18% POC
Allyson Kay Duncan (August 15, 2003); Janice Rogers Brown (June 10, 2005) - Clinton – 28% women; 25% POC
Judith W. Rogers (March 11, 1994); Ann Claire Williams (November 15, 1999); Johnnie B. Rawlinson (July 26, 2000) - Bush – 19% women; UK POC
- Carter – UK women; 22% POC
Amalya Lyle Kearse (June 21, 1979)
The bipartisan vote breakdown follows:
- Not voting (D-5, R-4)
Barrasso (R-WY), Brown (D-OH), Cramer (R-ND), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Leahy (D-VT), Murphy (D-CT), Risch (R-ID), Rubio (R-FL), Warnock (D-GA) - Republicans voting to confirm (14)
Blunt (R-MO), Braun (R-IN), Capito (R-WV), Cassidy (R-LA), Collins (R-ME), Cornyn (R-TX), Graham (R-SC), McConnell (R-KY), Murkowski (R-AK), Romney (R-UT), Rounds (R-SD), Tillis (R-NC), Wicker (R-MS), Young (R-IN) - Republicans voting in opposition (31)
Blackburn(R-TN), Boozman(R-AR), Burr(R-NC), Cotton(R-AR), Crapo(R-ID), Cruz(R-TX), Daines(R-MT), Ernst(R-IA), Fischer(R-NE), Grassley(R-IA), Hagerty(R-TN), Hawley(R-MO), Hoeven(R-ND), Hyde-Smith(R-MS), Inhofe(R-OK), Johnson(R-WI), Kennedy(R-LA), Lankford(R-OK), Lee(R-UT), Lummis(R-WY), Marshall(R-KS), Moran(R-KS), Paul(R-KY), Sasse(R-NE), Scott(R-FL), Scott(R-SC), Shelby(R-AL), Sullivan(R-AK), Thune(R-SD), Toomey(R-PA), Tuberville(R-AL)
#scitech, #society
Flickr CC
Daily posts, 2022-2023 (319/365)
