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Biden names third slate of judicial nominees

12 May 2021
Dan Ackermann

President Biden on Wednesday announced a new slate of nominations for federal judges, with the president now having put forward 20 names to fill judicial vacancies.

Why it matters: The administration described the most recent picks as an embodiment of "the diversity of our nation," and said that Biden is continuing a trend of announcing judicial nominees at a record pace.

  • "These individuals embody President Biden’s commitment to ensure that his judicial nominees represent not only the excellence but the diversity of our nation with respect to both personal and professional backgrounds," the White House said in a news release.

The recent nominees:

  • Gustavo A.Gelpí, Jr.: He was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2006 to the U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico. Biden is naming him to serve in the First Circuit Appeals Court, which could make him the second Puerto Rican judge to ever serve on that court.
  • Eunice C. Lee: She is being nominated to the Second Circuit Appeals Court, based in New York. She would be the second Black woman to ever serve in that court and the only serving with experience as a federal defender.
  • Veronica S. Rossman: The immigrant, who came to the United States as a small child, is being nominated to serve in the Tenth Circuit Appeals Court, based in Colorado.
  • Angel Kelley: Nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts after serving as a state judge since 2009. She would be the second Black woman and second Asian American to serve as a judge on that court.
  • Lauren J. King: She is being nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington after having worked as an attorney in Seattle. If confirmed, she would be the third Native American serving on a federal court and the first Native American federal judge in Washington State.
  • Karen M. Williams: Candidate for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. She would be the first Black district court judge to sit in the Camden courthouse.

What they're saying: "Most of our nominees are coming from the public sector, or from the defense bar, or other non traditional backgrounds for federal judges," White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said earlier this year, per USA Today.

  • "We're really focused on trying to fill those courts with qualified people and bring more balance to those courts."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.