President Joe Biden and his administration has made a strong commitment of making pathways for diversity at the federal level and across underserved communities. On Thursday, President Biden announced his latest slate of judicial nominees, continuing his ongoing quest to strengthen the federal bench.
Among the federal judicial nominees, 28% are African American, solidifying Biden’s push in bolstering the progression of the judicial branch. Among the 14 nominees announced by the White House, two of the hopefuls would make history if confirmed by the United States Senate.
Victoria Marie Calvert has worked as a staff attorney in the Federal Defender Program in Atlanta, Georgia since 2012. After obtaining her J.D. from New York University Law School in 2006, Calvert was an associate at King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta, with clients in the Special Matters and Government Investigations group. Calvert has also performed many hours of pro bono work.
If confirmed, Calvert would become just the second Black woman Article III judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and only the third Black woman to serve as an Article III judge on any federal court in the state. Upon confirmation, Calvert would also have the distinction of being the first former federal defender to become a district court judge in Georgia. Calvert is a 2003 graduate of Duke University.
Charles Esque Fleming has served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland since 1991. Along with his position, Fleming was the Investigative and Paralegal Staff Supervisor from 2010 to 2016 and the Cleveland Trial Team Supervisor from 2016 to 2021.
Prior to his work with the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Fleming was an associate at Forbes, Forbes & Associates in Cleveland. Fleming received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University Law School in 1990, and obtained his B.A. from Kent State University in 1986. If confirmed, Fleming would be the second active Black judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the only judge with experience as a public defender in that court.
Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, commended Biden’s latest diverse nominees. In a statement to TheGrio, Ifill said, “I remain very encouraged by the pace, diversity and qualifications of President Biden’s nominations to the federal bench. This is a solid list of nominees. President Biden continues to demonstrate his responsiveness to calls to bring greater diversity – racial, gender and professional background — to the federal bench.”
President Biden’s other district court nominees are:
Bridget Meehan Brennan: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
John H. Chun: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Samantha D. Elliott: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
Sarah Elisabeth Geraghty: Nominee for the be United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Dale E. Ho: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Linda Lopez: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
Jinsook Ohta: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
David Augustin Ruiz: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
The local D.C. courts nominees are:
Loren L. AliKhan: Nominee for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Adrienne Jennings Noti: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Ebony M. Scott: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
D.W. Tunnage: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
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