First Muslim woman to be a federal judge confirmed by the Senate
Nusrat Choudhury, a civil rights lawyer, had been confirmed by the Senate Thursday as a federal judge in New York, rendering them the first female Muslim American and the first Bangladeshi American to hold that distinction in US history.
Judge Choudhury, largely recently the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, was confirmed by a vote of 50-49with every Democrat but one supporting her.
Senator Chuck Schumer, New York Democrat and Majority Leader, praised Judge Choudhury on the Senate floor as “a shining example of the American dream.” Mr. Schumer had recommended that President Biden nominate her for judicial office.
“Our courts are at their strongest when they reflect the diversity and dynamism of our democracy, and we have a vibrant Bangladeshi community in New York and across the United States,” Mr Schumer said.
Judge Choudhury will now begin a life term on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which includes Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island and has in recent years heard the indictment of Representative George Santos and the trials of singer R. Kelly, the Mexican drug lord El Chapo and the Nxivm cult leader Keith Raniere.
Her confirmation comes two years after Zahid N. Quraishi, a federal magistrate judge and the son of immigrants from Pakistan, was confirmed to a New Jersey county seat and became the nation’s first Muslim federal judge.
As the Biden administration and Senate Democrats work to fill the federal judiciary’s many vacancies, they have made it a priority to confirm people of color and people of non-traditional backgrounds, including public defenders . The push comes after former President Donald J. Trump installed more than 220 conservative justices during his term.
Judge Choudhury, who has served as an attorney on more than two dozen federal cases, became legal director of the Illinois ACLU in January 2020. that focuses on issues such as First Amendment rights, government transparency, voting rights, access to reproductive health care, and the rights of children in foster care and those in prisons and jails.
Before joining the organization’s Illinois chapter, she spent more than 11 years at national headquarters, including seven as deputy director of the Racial Justice Program. She filed a lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department’s surveillance of Muslims, resulting in a court settlement.
Judge Choudhury’s time with the Illinois ACLU was “marked by her professionalism and undying commitment to advancing and protecting civil liberties,” said Colleen Connell, the department’s executive director. said in a statement.
“Nusrat joins a proud tradition of legendary ACLU attorneys, most notably Ruth Bader Ginsburg, stepping away from advocacy to don a black cloak and defend our Constitution,” Ms. Connell said.
Senator Joe Manchin, the only Democrat to vote against Judge Choudhury, said in a statement that he opposed her nomination because he was skeptical of “her ability to be unbiased about the work of our brave law enforcement officers.”
Judge Choudhury obtained a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a master’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University, and a law degree from Yale Law School.
She served as clerk to Judge Denise L. Cote in the Southern District of New York and Judge Barrington Parker Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.
The Senate also this week confirmed Dale Ho as a judge in the Southern District of New York. Judge Ho’s and Judge Choudhury’s confirmations brought to 21 the number of Asian Americans on the federal bench, increasing the ranks of a traditionally underrepresented group.