Blog Post

Let’s Hear It for the Amazing Women on the U.S. District Courts

After celebrating the brilliant women who are the first of their racial and ethnic backgrounds on the U.S. Court of Appeals, it’s now the U.S. District Court judges turn. While we often rightfully focus on Supreme Court decisions, it’s important to also pay close attention to what happens at the U.S. District Courts. There were 353,170 cases filed in U.S. District Courts in 2023 as compared to the 42,163 at the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the 10,000 average yearly petitions at the Supreme Court. It is equally as important for the U.S. District Courts to have racial and gender diversity as it is for the U.S Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Yet historically exceptional Asian American, Pacific Islander, Black, Latina, and Native American women have been shut out of the U.S. District Courts—the glass ceiling sadly existing at all levels of the federal courts.  

Even after Judge Constance Baker Motley’s historic appointment in 1966 as the first Black woman and woman of color judge on the U.S. District Court for the South District of New York, progress languished over the next four decades. In December 1996, only six out of 272 sitting U.S. District Court judges were women of color. By December 2020, women of color comprised 7.5% of sitting U.S. District Court judges even though they were 20.3% of the U.S. population. Women of color were overlooked for U.S. District Court judgeships for far too long—until real change began in 2021. 

Long awaited and overdue, 37% of President Joe Biden’s U.S. District Court appointments are women of color. President Biden’s intentional selection of women of color in his appointments brought the makeup of women of color serving as sitting U.S. District Court judges up from the 7.5% in 2020 to 11.3% by July 2024. Many of these women of color appointed were also former public defenders and civil rights attorneys increasing professional diversity on the district courts. Here are some of the historic firsts transforming the U.S. District Courts: 

Asian American Pacific Islander Women  

• Judge Mia Perez is an accomplished attorney and former public defender who established and ran her own law firm that focused on criminal defense and family law. She is the first Asian American woman and Asian American to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and was confirmed on December 7, 2022. 

• Judge Nusrat Choudhury is an incredible former civil rights attorney who fought against racial profiling and discrimination in policing. She is the first Muslim woman and first Bangladeshi judge to serve on any federal court and was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on June 15, 2023. 

Black Women  

• Judge Lydia Griggsby is an exceptional attorney who served as counsel for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and for U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. She is the first Black woman and woman of color to serve as a federal judge in Maryland and she was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on June 16, 2021. 

• Judge Adrienne Nelson is a former public defender and a highly experienced judge who spent 17 years serving on local and state courts before her appointment. She is the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and was confirmed on February 15, 2023. 

Latina Women  

• Judge Ana de Alba is a dedicated advocate with gender justice experience defending women and workers in multiple sexual harassment and retaliation cases. Judge de Alba is the first Latina to serve on the U.S. Eastern District for the District of California and was confirmed on June 21, 2022. She was later confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on November 13, 2023.  

• Judge Nancy Maldonado spent most of her career as a practicing attorney fighting for the rights of women and workers experiencing discrimination and harassment. Judge Maldonado is the first Latina to serve as a federal judge in Illinois and was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 19, 2022. She was confirmed on July 8, 2024 to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  

Native American Women   

• Judge Lydia Griggsby is also the first Native American woman to serve as a federal judge in Maryland. 

• Judge Lauren King has exceptional legal experience as a former principal at Foster Garvey PC and pro tem appellate judge on the Northwest Intertribal Court System. She is the first Native American woman and Native American to serve as a federal judge in Washington and was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on October 5, 2021. 

We need judges on the U.S. District Court who understand the real-world impact that their decisions have on the lives of women and girls and are committed to equal justice for all. I’m proud of the progress made but there is still more work to be done to fill more judicial vacancies. President Biden and the Senate need to continue prioritizing nominating exceptional women of color committed to equal justice to the U.S. District Courts. With continued progress, we will see a judiciary that truly reflects all of us.