On Wednesday, President Biden's nominations of Magistrate Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin to the District of South Carolina and Judge Cristal C. Brisco to the Northern District of Indiana were confirmed (article available here).
Judge Austin has been on the magistrate bench for the District of South Carolina since 2011. She will be the third Black woman to serve as a lifetime judge on the District of South Carolina and the only Black woman who will be currently serving.
Judge Brisco has been on the bench of the St. Joseph County Superior Court in South Bend, Indiana, since 2021 and has concurrently served as a judge on the Indiana Commercial Court since 2022. Earlier in her career, she was magistrate judge for the Circuit Court of St. Joseph County in Mishawaka.
With these two confirmations, Biden has now appointed 35 Black women to lifetime judicial roles, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Judge Brisco will be the first Black judge and first woman of color to serve as a lifetime judge on the Northern District of Indiana