President Joe Biden has nominated Judge Julie S. Sneed for the U.S. district courts in the Middle District of Florida and Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin for the District of South Carolina, adding to the record number of Black female federal judges nominated during his administration.
A Nov. 1 White House press release detailed the president’s 41st round of federal judicial nominees. Sneed and Austin were among five nominees whom the press release referred to as “extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.”
The Washington Informer reported that Sneed has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Middle District of Florida since June 2015. Sneed earned a a Juris Doctor from Florida State University College of Law. Austin has been a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of South Carolina since 2011 and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law, the outlet noted.
Stephen Benjamin, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and a senior adviser to the president told TheGrio, “The Biden-Harris administration continues to set records when it comes to professional and demographic diversity.”
A total of 32 Black females have been appointed by Biden and confirmed by the Senate for lifelong judgeships, including Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The Washington Informer reported that two-thirds of the 148 life-tenured federal judges confirmed identify as BIPOC or women, which supports the present administration’s commitment to diversity.“These choices also continue to fulfill the president’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds,” White House officials said in a release.
The other three nominees announced in the White House press release were Judge Jacqueline Becerra, Judge Melissa Damian, and David S. Leibowitz, all for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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