01of 11Kevin Lamarque-Pool/Getty Images; Richland County Bar Association; Jeff Chiu/AP/Shutterstock; Courtesy of Office of Governor DaytonPresidentJoe Bidenhas promised to nominate a Black woman as a Supreme Court justice toreplace Stephen Breyer: Here are 10 names he is considering.In addition to the White House’s praise for J. Michelle Childs, a source familiar tells PEOPLE that three of the other judges on the shortlist have stood out for their history of bipartisan support, legal and academic accolades, work in public service and their life stories: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger and Wilhelmina Wright.Read on for background on each of the women whom Bidenmight pick for an historic appointment.
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Kevin Lamarque-Pool/Getty Images; Richland County Bar Association; Jeff Chiu/AP/Shutterstock; Courtesy of Office of Governor Dayton
PresidentJoe Bidenhas promised to nominate a Black woman as a Supreme Court justice toreplace Stephen Breyer: Here are 10 names he is considering.
In addition to the White House’s praise for J. Michelle Childs, a source familiar tells PEOPLE that three of the other judges on the shortlist have stood out for their history of bipartisan support, legal and academic accolades, work in public service and their life stories: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger and Wilhelmina Wright.
Read on for background on each of the women whom Bidenmight pick for an historic appointment.
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Nancy Abudu
THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
Her experience includes extensive work on voting, reproductive, felon disenfranchisement and LGBTQ rights, some of which could disqualify her in the eyes of more conservative groups. Her work has brought her before various federal courts of appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court, to which she has submitted more than 80 briefs, according to theAlliance for Justice.
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J. Michelle Childs
Charles Dharapak/AP/Shutterstock
Another lawmaker from that state, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, has alsoexpressed his support for Childs, calling her “an awesome person.” In 2020, Childs presided over cases on voting rights, ending a witness-signature requirement for mail-in ballots, andCOVID-19vaccination rules, refusing to block a mandate for a federal contractor,CNN reports.
However, some liberal advocates have criticized her previous work for corporations in discrimination cases and her past ties to a law firm advertising anti-union services.
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Tiffany Cunningham
Shutterstock
“She grew up in Michigan, where her mother was a teacher and her father worked in the automobile industry. She was the first in her family to go to law school. Her work ethic, fierce intelligence, and collegial nature has led her to excel in almost every context and environment where she has found herself,” the letter says.
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Sherrilyn Ifill
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images
According to herbio at the Thurgood Marshall Institute, Ifill is working on a book about race and Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Her recentstatements on police reformcould complicate a confirmation process given strong opposition among Republicans and some Democrats, including the president, to the goal of reforming and “defunding the police.”
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Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images
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Ketanji Brown Jackson
Ketanji Brown Jackson.Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images
Jackson has said her time as a public defender informed her work as a trial judge because of how little her clients knew about the legal process. On the District Court in D.C., Jackson recently joined an opinion that upheld the decision of a lower court ordering records from the Trump White House to be handed over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court later turned down the former president’s request to overturn that ruling.
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Leondra Kruger
Jeff Chiu/AP/Shutterstock
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Eunice Lee
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
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Holly Thomas
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Wilhelmina “Mimi” Wright
Office of Governor Dayton
source: people.com
