Published on: Wednesday, September 14, 2022

The Senate confirmed Rhode Island Public Defender Lara Montecalvo to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, marking President Biden’s sixth confirmed circuit judge with a public defense background (article available here).

Montecalvo’s confirmation on Wednesday gives Biden the most former public defenders confirmed to circuit courts of any president, edging out former President Barack Obama’s five former defenders over his two terms.

Biden has prioritized demographic and professional diversity in his judicial selections. Those efforts have included scores of nominees with backgrounds in public defense, which hasn’t historically been common for federal judges compared with prosecutors, for instance.

As Biden latest public defender appointed to a circuit court, Montecalvo joins the ranks of Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Eunice Lee, Veronica Rossman, and Gustavo Gelpí. Ketanji Brown Jackson was Biden’s first former public defender circuit court appointee before she was elevated to the Supreme Court.