As President Joe Biden enters the final days of his presidency, he has another historic milestone to add to his resume. The Senate confirmed Judge Benjamin Cheeks to the Southern District of California, marking the 63rd lifetime Black judicial confirmation during his administration.
Biden has now confirmed more Black judges to the federal bench than any president in U.S. history, including those who served two terms.
“[President Biden] making history with the 63rd Black judge shows that we have representation in the court system, especially when we’re expecting equal protection under the law,” said Jamarr Brown, executive director of Color of Change PAC. “Having that representation of Black people who … will apply the law and apply the law fairly absolutely matters for the future of criminal justice in our country.”
Brown added, “We will see the impacts of his appointments for years to come.”
During his one term in office, President Jimmy Carter appointed 37 Black lifetime judges, as did President Bill Clinton during his first term. Over the course of their two terms in office, President Barack Obama and Clinton each appointed 62 Black judges.
Judge Cheeks has an impressive legal career, having served as a criminal defense attorney in private practice, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California and in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, and a professor. A native of Albany, Georgia, Judge Cheeks is a graduate of the University of Miami, American University, and the Washington College of Law.
The Biden administration’s latest achievement comes after the Senate confirmed Tiffany Rene Johnson to serve in the Northern District of Georgia earlier this month. This marked the most Black female judges confirmed to the federal bench in one presidential term.
During his first term, President Trump appointed only two Black women out of 234 judges to the federal bench, which is less than 1% of his appointments. Trump nominated no Black judges to federal circuit courts.
These latest judicial confirmations are part of an effort to seat as many federal judges before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20. President Biden recently beat Trump’s record for overall judges confirmed by the Senate with 235 judicial confirmations.
Since taking office, President Biden has vowed to reshape the federal judiciary to reflect America’s diversity. His most historic and notable appointment was Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was confirmed as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court in April 2022.
Biden has appointed several “first” Black judges across the nation’s district courts and courts of appeals, including Tiffany Cunningham, the first Black judge to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; Dana Douglas, the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; and Jerry Edwards, Jr., the first Black judge to serve on U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
The steady appointments from President Biden (and confirmations by the Senate) are seen as necessary in his final days in the Oval Office, not only to fulfill his goal of transforming the federal judiciary but also to preserve his legislative legacy. Many of his policies — and those enacted by President Trump in his second term — could be challenged in the courts in the coming months and years. The ideological bent of federal judges will undoubtedly have major implications.
Beyond his judicial appointments, Brown of Color of Change said, “President Biden has had a historic presidency.” He added, “That’s important to recognize, from groundbreaking legislation and investments in communities, even representation in the various institutions of our government and various systems.”
