ICYMI: President Biden Announces Five Nominees to Federal Judiciary

Today, President Biden announced five nominees to serve life-tenured federal judgeships – and if confirmed – they include the first Muslim-American judge on any circuit court, the top lawyer for the SEIU, a former public defender, the first Black woman and the first woman of color to serve on a U.S. District in the Northern District of Indiana, and an accomplished state court jurist who has served on the bench for the past 15 years.

Last week, the President saw the confirmation of his 150th life-tenured federal judge—a major milestone. Today's announcement builds on that achievement. To date, 154 of the President's life-tenured judicial nominees have been confirmed, and this announcement builds on the President's progress working with Democrats and Republicans to bring professional and demographic diversity to the bench and ensure that the judiciary looks more like the nation as a whole.

Read more below:
Associated Press:Biden announces 5 federal judicial nominees and stresses their varied professional backgrounds
[Will Weissert, 11/15/23]
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced five nominees to federal judgeships, including the first Muslim-American on any circuit court, looking to add to more than 150 of his judicial selections who have already been confirmed to the bench. The announcements by the Democratic president are part of the White House's push to nominate diverse judges, especially those from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, and to do so even in states with Republican senators.

Messenger: Biden Announces Five New Judicial Nominees
[Eva Surovell, 11/15/23]
"Today's announcement of five highly qualified Article III nominees — four women, two nominees from a state represented by Senate Republicans and three historic first nominees — continues the President's drive to bring professional and demographic diversity to the federal judiciary and his commitment to working with Senators on both sides of the aisle," White House Counsel Ed Siskel said in a statement.

CNN: Biden judicial pick would be the first Muslim American to serve on any federal appellate court
[Devan Cole, 11/15/23]
President Joe Biden's latest slate of judicial nominations includes a New York-based litigator who would be the first Muslim American to serve on any federal appeals court, the White House announced Wednesday.

The nomination of Adeel Mangi to the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals underscores Biden's stated goal of prioritizing personal and professional diversity in his judicial picks. The president has previously nominated three Muslim-Americans to federal judgeships, though one of them is awaiting confirmation.

Reuters: Biden nominates union lawyer, Muslim American to U.S. appeals courts
[Nate Raymond, 11/15/23]

President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated the top lawyer at a major labor union and a Muslim American attorney to become federal appeals court judges as part of a continued effort by the White House to diversify the federal judiciary.

Biden nominated Nicole Berner, the general counsel of Service Employees International Union, to the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and New Jersey attorney Adeel Mangi to join the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
If confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, Berner would become the first openly LGBTQ 4th Circuit judge and Mangi, a partner at the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, would become the first Muslim American federal appellate judge ever.

Washington Post: Biden nominates labor lawyer Nicole Berner to 4th Circuit
[Rachel Weiner, 11/15/23]
President Biden has nominated longtime union lawyer Nicole Berner to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, ending a yearslong stalemate over the position between the White House and the Senate.

Berner is currently general counsel to the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 2 million workers. She previously worked as a staff attorney at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

"She's diverse in several different ways. Not only is she an accomplished workers' rights attorney, but she's a mom, she's an LGBTQ woman, she is Jewish," Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in an interview before the nomination was announced. She advocated for Berner in a letter to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) early last year, saying she would be the first openly gay judge on the 4th Circuit and its only judge with a labor background.

NBC: Biden to nominate attorney who would be first Muslim American judge on a federal appeals court
[Zoe Richards, 11/15/23]

President Joe Biden will announce his intention Wednesday to nominate an attorney whose Senate confirmation would make him the first Muslim American judge to serve on a federal appeals court, a White House official said.

The nominee, Adeel A. Mangi, has served on the board of directors of the Muslim Bar Association of New York, the Legal Aid Society of New York and Muslims for Progressive Values and as an ally board member for the National LGBT Bar Association, according to his biographical page at the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, where he's a partner.

[…]

The White House on Wednesday highlighted Mangi's handling of court filings before state and federal appeals courts, including one that appeared before the Supreme Court on behalf of a multifaith religious coalition.

Baltimore Sun: Biden nominates Marylander to 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, would be first openly LGBTQ member on that court
[Jeff Barker, 11/15/23]

The White House said Wednesday it is nominating Nicole G. Berner, a labor lawyer from Takoma Park, to the federal appeals court overseeing Maryland cases.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first openly LGBTQ judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a White House release that also announced four other federal judge appointees.

The 4th Circuit is based in Richmond, Virginia, and hears appeals from federal district courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Berner is general counsel to the Service Employees International Union. She previously served as a staff attorney for Planned Parenthood.
Her work includes acting as counsel for the union's amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court defending the Affordable Care Act, the health care law known as "Obamacare," in 2018.

New Jersey Globe: Biden Taps North Jersey Lawyer As First Muslin To Serve As A Federal Appellate Court Judge
[David Wildstein, 11/15/23]

President Joe Biden today nominated Adeel A. Mangi to serve as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which will make him the first Muslim to serve as a federal appellate court judge in the nation if he's confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Mangi, 46, was born in Pakistan and is a partner at a large New York law firm, Patterson Belknap, and lives in North Jersey. He would replace Judge Joseph Greenaway, Jr., who retired in June.

The New Jersey Globe first reported last week that Mangi, who has supported progressive causes, had emerged as the top choice to fill the key judicial post.

Mangi represented the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge in a 2016 religious freedom discrimination case after Bernards Township officials refused to permit the construction of a mosque. The case against Bernards was eventually settled for $3.25 million. Mangi donated legal fees awarded to him to several charities, including a scholarship fund for Muslim law students.

Oregon Live: Biden nominates Multnomah County Judge Amy Baggio to serve on Oregon's federal bench
[Maxine Bernstein, 11/15/23]

President Joe Biden has nominated Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy M. Baggio to serve as a federal district judge in Oregon.
Baggio is one of five nominees for the federal bench announced Wednesday. Four of the five are women.

NewsNet Northern Michigan: Biden Announces 5 Federal Judicial Nominees; More in the Works
[Staff, 11/15/23]

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced five nominees to federal judgeships, looking to add to the more than 150 of his selections who have already been confirmed.

The announcements by the Democratic president are part of the White House's push to nominate diverse candidates as judges, especially those from a wide variety of professional backgrounds. He is also seeking to maintain that appointment push even in states with Republican senators.