President Joe Biden on Thursday announced four new judicial nominees including a Second Circuit pick who would be first openly LGBT woman to serve on a federal appellate court (article available here).
Justice Beth Robinson, who has been an associate justice on the Vermont Supreme Court since 2011, is nominated for a seat on the Second Circuit. The Biden administration said she would be the first openly LGBT woman on any federal circuit court.
Biden also announced plans to nominate employment lawyer Charlotte Sweeney to the District of Colorado. Sweeney would be the first openly LGBT U.S. judge in the state and west of the Mississippi. Biden also tapped U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Katherine Dimke to fill a vacancy at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
The new selections continue the Biden administration’s focus on diversifying the federal courts in terms of demographics and professional background. The first openly gay federal judge was U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Deborah Batts, who was confirmed in 1994.