In a significant move highlighting the diversity of President Joe Biden’s judicial picks, the administration recently announced its intention to nominate the first Muslim to serve on a federal appeals court. Adeel Mangi, a partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler who was born in Pakistan, has been earmarked for the position at the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. This news comes from a recent Bloomberg Law report.
So far under the Biden presidency, three other Muslim federal judges have been nominated. Judge Zahid Quraishi was confirmed to the District of New Jersey back in 2021, and Nusrat Choudhury joined the Eastern District of New York earlier this year. The nomination of Mustafa Kasubhai to the District of Oregon is currently awaiting Senate approval.
The news about Mangi’s nomination is particularly noteworthy given that it arrives at a time when President Biden has faced criticism and dissatisfaction amongst Muslim voters over his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, as Bloomberg Law reports.
Additionally, the White House revealed its plans to nominate SEIU’s General Counsel, Nicole Berner, to a seat on the Fourth Circuit. Berner, previously a staff attorney for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and a Jenner & Block associate, has the potential to be the first openly LGBTQ lawyer on the Fourth Circuit. In a broader context, this continues the Biden administration’s record on nominating diverse candidates to federal judicial positions.