As reported by Politico, the Biden administration has released a list of 11 candidates for the federal judiciary, including picks for three circuit court vacancies, seven district court vacancies, and an administrative vacancy. The most high profile pick is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the D.C. District Court, who has now been nominated to the D.C. Circuit. The Politico article notes that all three of the president’s circuit court picks are African American, and several of his other picks represent “firsts” in terms of breaking racial barriers.
Some of these picks make good on the Biden administration’s promise to nominate more civil rights litigators and public defenders, such as Judge Brown Jackson, who served as a public defender before becoming a judge. However, most of the attorneys nominated are also partners at large law firms with pedigree backgrounds. President Biden currently has 68 more judicial vacancies to fill, with 7 circuit court vacancies and 61 district court vacancies, and with those, an opportunity to nominate more civil rights litigators and public defenders.