Atlanta-based federal prosecutor Tiffany Johnson became the fifth federal judge in Georgia appointed by President Joe Biden when the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Monday.
Johnson, 37, will replace U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in the Northern District of Georgia, which has jurisdiction over federal cases in 46 counties. It is one of three federal trial courts in Georgia, and has courthouses in Atlanta, Rome, Newnan and Gainesville.
Jones, 67, announced in May his intention to take senior status at the start of 2025. Jones, who oversaw the City Hall corruption cases and scrapped Georgia’s redistricting, said he plans to retain all of his pending cases as a senior judge while accepting a limited number of new cases.
Johnson, an assistant U.S. attorney in Northern Georgia since 2017, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. She told the Senate Judiciary Committee in September that being considered for the role was the honor of her life.
Credit: Courtesy U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
Credit: Courtesy U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
“Being of service to my community and my country has been a guiding principle for my life,” Johnson said, crediting her parents who both served in the military. “If you ask 100 people what they believe the American dream is, I would wager you would get 100 different answers. If you ask me, as a first generation college student, I’d say sitting here today as a judicial nominee qualifies.”
Biden tapped Johnson for a federal judgeship in July. She is the third judge he has appointed to the Northern District of Georgia after Victoria Calvert and Sarah Geraghty, who were both nominated in 2021 and confirmed the following year.
Biden also appointed two judges to the Atlanta-based federal appeals court that has jurisdiction over Georgia, Florida and Alabama. That court, known as the 11th Circuit, is considered one of the most conservative federal appellate courts in the country, in large part because President-elect Donald Trump was able to appoint six of its 12 current judges during his first term in office.
Nancy Abudu became an 11th Circuit judge in 2023 and Embry Kidd’s confirmation to the court came in November.
There are no more vacancies on Georgia’s federal courts for Biden to fill. His appointments in Georgia satisfy his pledge to diversify the bench. Calvert, Abudu, Kidd and Johnson are Black.
“There’s no question about it, he’s broken all records,” said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law who specializes in federal judicial selection.
In May, the White House announced the confirmation of Biden’s 200th judicial nominee. Of those new federal judges, 64% are women and 62% are people of color, the White House said.
Tobias said Biden has also honored his pledge to appoint new federal judges with diverse experience. Abudu previously worked as an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Johnson’s path to judgeship was smooth, Tobias said. The 48 senators who voted in favor of her confirmation were Democrats and independents. Only Republicans voted against her.
“She is highly qualified and went through the process without any rancor or criticism, which is unusual these days,” Tobias said.
Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Johnson worked as a litigation associate at the Atlanta law firm Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs. She received her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2012 after graduating from Princeton University in 2009.
Johnson’s nomination was recommended by Georgia senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who congratulated her in a news release Monday.
“Tiffany Johnson’s temperament, discernment and legal wisdom are exemplary,” Warnock said. “Johnson is a dedicated public servant with a long-standing commitment to the rule of law and serving her community. Georgians throughout the Northern District will be well served by her legal mind and dedication to the Peach State.”
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