Joe Biden Names Thirty-Third Round of Judicial Nominees

By Jessel Renolayan First Posted: May 04, 2023 12:24 AM EDT

President Joe Biden is announcing his intent to nominate four federal judicial nominees-all 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.

(Photo : Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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If confirmed, this slate would include:

The first South Asian woman to serve on United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the only active AAPI woman judge on that court.
A woman who would be the first federal judge of East Asian descent in Michigan.

This will be Joe Biden's thirty-third round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 167.

United States District Court Announcements

Loren L. AliKhan: Candidate for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Judge Loren L. AliKhan has served as a judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals since 2022. Previously, Judge AliKhan served as Solicitor General for the District of Columbia from 2018 to 2022, and as Deputy Solicitor General from 2013 to 2017. From 2010 to 2013, Judge AliKhan worked in the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group at O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Washington, D.C. She served as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2008 to 2009. Judge AliKhan served as a law clerk for Judge Thomas L. Ambro on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2007 to 2008 and for Judge Louis H. Pollak on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2007. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 2006 and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Bard College at Simon's Rock in 2003.

Susan K. DeClercq: Candidate for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Susan K. DeClercq has been Director and Counsel of Special Investigations at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan since 2022. Ms. DeClercq previously served as an Assistant U.S Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2004 to 2022, where she had several leadership roles, including serving as Chief of the Civil Division. Ms. DeClercq worked for Skadden, Arps, Slate, and Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C. as a litigation associate from 2001 to 2004. From 1999 to 2001, she served as a law clerk for Judge Avern Cohn on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ms. DeClercq received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Wayne State University School of Law in 1999 and her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1995.

Julia K. Munley: Candidate for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Judge Julia K. Munley has served as a judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County in Pennsylvania's 45th Judicial District since 2016. Previously, Judge Munley worked as a trial attorney and partner at Munley Law in Scranton, Pennsylvania from 2001 to 2016. Prior to that, she was an associate at Mazzoni & Karam Law Offices in Scranton, P.A. from 1995 to 2001 and at Masterson, Braunfeld, Maguire & Brown from 1993 to 1995. Judge Munley served as a law clerk to Judge Stephen J. McEwen of the Pennsylvania Superior Court from 1992 to 1993. She received her J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law in 1992 and her B.A. from Marywood University in 1987.

Vernon D. Oliver: Candidate for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut

Judge Vernon D. Oliver has served as a judge on the Connecticut Superior Court since 2009. Judge Oliver has also served as the Administrative Judge for the Middlesex Judicial District since 2020. Previously, Judge Oliver served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General from 2004 to 2009. From 1999 to 2004, he served as an Assistant State's Attorney in the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. He was also an associate at Montstream & May LLP in Glastonbury, Connecticut from 1998 to 1999. Judge Oliver received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1997 and his B.A. from the University of Connecticut in 1994.