Legal News

U.S. Senate Confirms First Gay Federal Appeals Court Judge
Download PDF
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

On Tuesday, the US Senate confirmed Todd Hughes as a judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This makes Hughes the highest-ranking openly gay judge in the country. Hughes’ nomination was a unanimous 98-0.

The White House Blog mentioned that there are only seven openly gay federal judges serving currently at the district courts, and all have been nominated by President Obama. In her post, Kathryn Ruemmlar wrote, “Like all of the President’s judicial nominees, Hughes has the intellect, experience, integrity, and temperament to be a successful judge … he is also gay.”

  
What
Where


The White House Blog post explains that the United States Courts of Appeals are the second-highest courts in the nation – a level just below the Supreme Court – and there has never been an openly gay judge to serve on a Court of Appeals until now.

The Washington Post reported that Hughes’s friend, Geovette Washington, who is the general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget described Hughes as a problem solver who “can do very complicated constitutional issues.” Washington has been friends with Hughes since law school.

Michael Cole-Scwartz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, said, “It’s a testament to how far we have come as a country that his sexual orientation is irrelevant to his ability to serve on our nation’s courts.”

Get JD Journal in Your Mail

Subscribe to our FREE daily news alerts and get the latest updates on the most happening events in the legal, business, and celebrity world. You also get your daily dose of humor and entertainment!!




The White House Blog post observed that Hughes’s appointment was “yet another ‘first’ among President Obama’s judges … We look forward to the ‘seconds’ and ‘thirds’ who will come after Todd Hughes and his fellow ‘firsts’ currently serving on our courts.”

The post mentioned, the ‘firsts’ included three Hispanic, two Asian American, and one African American – who are ‘firsts’ in their respective courts.





 

RELEVANT JOBS

Associate Attorney

USA-PA-Exton

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY McKenna Snyder LLC, a law firm in Exton, PA has an immediate opening for an ex...

Apply now

Attorney

USA-MI-Sturgis

Qualifications: HaasCaywood is seeking associate attorneys for our Coldwater and Sturgis, Michiga...

Apply now

Attorney

USA-MI-Coldwater

Qualifications: HaasCaywood is seeking associate attorneys for our Coldwater and Sturgis, Michiga...

Apply now

Deputy General Counsel / Senior Deputy General Counsel

USA-CA-Sacramento

Cal Cities Culture and Mission Cal Cities is dedicated to creating a collaborative and inclusive ...

Apply now

BCG FEATURED JOB

Locations:

Keyword:



Search Now

Education Law Attorney

USA-CA-El Segundo

El Segundo office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law attorney with ...

Apply Now

Education Law Attorney

USA-CA-Carlsbad

Carlsbad office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law attorney with 4-...

Apply Now

Education Law and Public Entity Attorney

USA-CA-El Segundo

El Segundo office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law and public ent...

Apply Now

Most Popular

SEARCH IN ARCHIVE

To Top