President Joe Biden has tapped a Florida judge to fill a vacancy on the Atlanta-based federal appeals court after its longest-serving judge decided to take senior status.
The White House announced Wednesday that Biden intends to nominate U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry J. Kidd to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Kidd is “extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution,” The White House stated.
It is Biden’s second judicial selection for the court, which hears federal cases from Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Judge Charles R. Wilson, who was appointed to the court in 1999 by then-President Bill Clinton, announced in January his plan to vacate his seat upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate of his successor.
The 11th Circuit is considered to be one of the most conservative federal appellate courts in the country, in large part because former President Donald Trump was able to appoint six of its 12 current judges.
Biden’s first appointment to the court was Judge Nancy G. Abudu. Her confirmation by the Senate came in May 2023.
Abudu and Wilson are the 11th Circuit’s only Black judges. Kidd is also Black.
Wilson, whose primary chambers are in Florida, will join nine other senior judges of the court. Senior judges can choose to handle a reduced caseload.
The court will continue to be considered conservative-leaning with seven of its core judges appointed by Republican presidents, including the six who gained their seats under Trump.
Kidd has been a federal magistrate judge in Florida since 2019. He previously spent five years as a Florida-based federal prosecutor, after working as an associate at the law firm Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C.
Kidd also served as a law clerk for a judge of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Virginia after graduating from Yale Law School in 2008. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Emory University.
Kidd deferred comment Wednesday to The White House. His selection is part of Biden’s 49th round of nominees for federal judicial positions. Biden also tapped judges for positions on federal trial courts in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.
“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,” The White House stated.
Federal judges generally have lifetime appointments. They can take senior status after serving at least 10 years. Even if a judge continues to handle a full caseload as a senior judge, their change in status prompts a vacancy on the bench.
Carl W. Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law who specializes in federal judicial selection, said he expects Kidd to be confirmed by the Senate before the presidential election in November. Tobias said Kidd is a strong contender for the appellate court seat, based on his experience.
“Magistrate judges do everything that district judges do except they can’t try felonies,” Tobias said. “He’s in the federal system, so he knows his way around the federal statutes.”
Tobias said Biden has appointed more than 50 Black judges, about a quarter of them to appellate courts. He said it makes sense for Kidd to replace Wilson.
“Especially when you’re losing to senior status someone who’s been around a long time and is very experienced, it’s valuable to replace that person with someone who also is of an ethnic minority,” he said. “And because of (Kidd’s) qualifications, he is a very strong candidate.”
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