Chuck Schumer Recommends 2 Voting Rights Attorneys To Be Federal Judges

Last updated on June 9th, 2021 at 04:41 am

Senate Majority Leader Schumer is looking to restore balance to the courts, and his first step is to recommend two voting rights attorneys to be federal judges.

On the Senate floor, Majority Leader Schumer said:

Now, in the same vein, today, I also announced two judicial recommendations to President Biden: Myrna Pérez, the director of voting rights at the Brennan Center for Justice, to serve on the prestigious Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and Dale Ho, the leader of the voting rights project at the ACLU, to serve on the Southern District of New York.

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Ms. Pérez and Mr. Ho are two of the foremost voting rights and election experts in the country. With a national focus on voting rights, their elevation is timely, and their perspective will be invaluable. Ms. Pérez would also be the first Latina to serve on the Second circuit court since now-Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Diversity on the federal bench is very important to me, both demographic diversity AND diversity of experience. The courts have long been packed with former prosecutors and corporate lawyers. It’s about time that civil rights attorneys, voting rights attorneys, and federal defenders start getting the nod.

My recommendation of Ms. Pérez and Mr. Ho are part of that effort. Last month, I also recommended Eunice Lee, an appellate attorney with the Federal Defenders of New York, to serve as a judge on the Second Circuit.

Lee could become just the second Black woman to sit on this prestigious appeals court, a court that has never—never—had a former federal defender on its roster.

Just like Ms. Pérez and Mr. Ho, Eunice Lee will bring demographic and professional diversity to the federal bench. The three of them in tandem will bring dynamism, brilliance, and a real diversity of experience to the courts in New York.

As the Senator from New York, and as the Majority Leader, I’m intent on restoring balance to a judiciary that has been thrown out of whack by four years of President Trump’s selections.

Majority Leader Schumer is correct. One of the best ways to protect voting rights is to have judges on the federal bench who believe in the right to vote.

It will take years for Democrats to undo the damage that Trump and McConnell, but the recommendations that Schumer made are steps in the right direction.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association