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President Joe Biden has announced his seventh round of judicial nominees for the federal bench.
As has been the case with previous rounds of judicial nominees, the new round continues to fulfill the President’s promise to nominate individuals that ensure that reflect the diversity in the country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.
For example, this slate includes:
- Three new Latino judicial nominees with diverse professional experiences.
- A nominee who would be the first Korean-American woman to serve as a federal appellate judge and the second AAPI woman to serve on the Ninth Circuit from California.
- A nominee who would be the first Black woman to serve on the Ninth Circuit from California, as well as the second Black woman to ever serve on the Ninth Circuit.
- A nominee who would be the only active Black woman district court judge in any of California’s four federal district courts.
This is President Biden’s seventh round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 43.
Circuit Courts
Judge Lucy H. Koh: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Judge Lucy H. Koh has served as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California since 2010. Prior to her confirmation as a federal judge, Judge Koh served as a California Superior Court Judge for Santa Clara County from 2008 to 2010.
Justice Gabriel P. Sanchez: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Justice Gabriel P. Sanchez has served as an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District since 2018. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Justice Sanchez worked for seven years in California state government.
Judge Holly A. Thomas: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Judge Holly A. Thomas has served as a judge in the Family Law Division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2018. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Thomas was the Deputy Director of Executive Programs at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing from 2016 to 2018. From 2015 to 2016, Judge Thomas was a special counsel to the New York Solicitor General, and from 2010 to 2015, she was an appellate attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
District Courts
Judge Holly A. Thomas: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Judge Holly A. Thomas has served as a judge in the Family Law Division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2018. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Thomas was the Deputy Director of Executive Programs at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing from 2016 to 2018. From 2015 to 2016, Judge Thomas was a special counsel to the New York Solicitor General, and from 2010 to 2015, she was an appellate attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Judge Katherine Marie Menendez: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
Judge Katherine Marie Menendez has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Minnesota since 2016. She previously served in the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota from 1997 to 2016.
Judge Jennifer L. Thurston: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Judge Jennifer L. Thurston has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of California since 2009, and as Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge for the district since October 2020.
David Herrera Urias: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
David Herrera Urias has been an attorney at Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward, P.A. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since 2008. Mr. Urias was previously a staff attorney at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund in San Antonio, Texas, from 2004 to 2008.
Judge Hernán D. Vera: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Judge Hernán D. Vera has served as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2020. He previously worked as a principal at Bird Marella P.C. from 2015 to 2020. From 2002 to 2014, Judge Vera worked for Public Counsel, the largest pro bono public interest law firm in the nation, first as a directing attorney and later as president and CEO.
