Press Release - President Biden Names Twelfth Round of Judicial Nominees

The President is announcing two new judicial nominees, both of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President's promise to ensure that the nation's courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

For example, the President's nominee for the United States Court of Appeals or the Eleventh Circuit, Nancy Gbana Abudu, would be the first African-American woman judge ever to sit on the Eleventh Circuit, the second woman of color ever to sit on that court, and only the third African-American judge ever to sit on that court. She would also be the first person of color to serve on the Eleventh Circuit from Georgia.

This is President Biden's twelfth round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 75.

President Biden has spent decades committed to strengthening the federal bench, which is why he continues to move rapidly to fill judicial vacancies.

These are the President's final judicial nominations for 2021, a year during which 40 circuit and district court judges were confirmed – the most since Ronald Reagan was President. And 80% of those confirmed judges are women, with 53% being people of color.

Circuit Court

Nancy Gbana Abudu: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Nancy Gbana Abudu is the Deputy Legal Director and Interim Director for Strategic Litigation at the Southern Poverty Law Center, where she has worked since 2019. Abudu was previously the Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida from 2013 to 2019 and a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project from 2005 to 2013. Ms. Abudu served as a staff attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 2002 to 2004. She was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP from 1999 to 2001. Ms. Abudu received her J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in 1999 and her B.A. from Columbia University in 1996.

J. Michelle Childs: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Judge J. Michelle Childs has served as a United States District Court Judge for the District of South Carolina since 2010. Judge Childs previously served as a state trial court judge on the South Carolina Circuit Court from 2006 to 2010. Judge Childs was a Commissioner on the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission from 2002 to 2006. She was the Deputy Director of the Division of Labor at the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation from 2000 to 2002. From 1992 to 2000, Judge Childs was an associate and then partner at the law firm Nexsen Pruet, LLP in Columbia, South Carolina.

Judge Childs received her Master's in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law in 2016. She received both her J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law and her M.A. in Personnel and Employment Relations from the University of South Carolina School of Business in 1991. Judge Childs received her B.A., cum laude, from the University of Florida in 1988.