The Senate has confirmed Nancy Gbana Abudu to replace Judge Beverly Martin on the Eleventh Circuit. Abudu joins the Court from the Southern Poverty Law Center, where she served as Deputy Legal Director and Director for Strategic Litigation. According to the White House’s announcement upon her nomination, she will be “the first African-American woman judge…
Category: Court News
Nancy Gbana Abudu Nominated to Fill Georgia Seat on Court
On December 23, 2021, President Biden nominated Nancy Gbana Abudu to replace Judge Beverly Martin on the Eleventh Circuit. The nominee is currently Deputy Legal Director and Director for Strategic Litigation at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Previously, she served as Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Senior Staff Counsel…
Judge Beverly Martin to Resign on September 30, 2021
Judge Beverly Martin, an Obama appointee who also served as a judge in the Northern District of Georgia and as United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, has notified the White House that she intends to resign as a judge on the Eleventh Circuit effective September 30, 2021. Judge Martin is regarded as…
Judge William Pryor Becomes Chief Judge of Eleventh Circuit
The Eleventh Circuit welcomed a new chief judge this week, as the Hon. William H. Pryor Jr. replaced the Hon. Ed Carnes in that role on the latter’s seventieth birthday, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 45. Judge Carnes had previously given notice of his intention to take senior status, and District Judge Andrew Brasher…
Supreme Court Postpones April Arguments
The Supreme Court has postponed its April argument session due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Having previously postponed the arguments scheduled for late March, the Court now has 20 cases that will have to be reset for argument. While not unprecedented, the Court has adjusted its schedule due to a public health crisis only three times…
Eleventh Circuit Restricts Physical Access to Courthouse, Provides Exemption from Paper Filing
The Eleventh Circuit’s General Order No. 44 (March 15, 2020) provides that: • Access to the Tuttle Courthouse and Godbold Building is restricted to judges, Court staff, members of the media, and visitors with official Court business; • Paper filings are to be made by delivery to the Court’s dropbox at the Godbold Building’s entrance…
Judge Andrew Brasher Confirmed to the Eleventh Circuit
The U.S. Senate confirmed U.S. District Judge Andrew Brasher’s nomination to the Eleventh Circuit with a 52-43 vote on February 11, 2020. Judge Brasher was previously sworn into office as a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama on May 1, 2019. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Brasher served as Alabama’s…
Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa Sworn In as Eleventh Circuit Judges
Two Miami-born, Florida Supreme Court justices have been sworn in to the Eleventh Circuit. Both judges served on Florida’s high court for less than a year before being nominated to the Eleventh Circuit by President Trump in September. Judge Luck, 40, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 64 to 31 in…
Judge Stanley Marcus to Take Senior Status
After more than 20 years serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Judge Stanley Marcus has announced his intention to retire in senior status. Judge Marcus is currently among the most senior active judges on the court, second only to Judge Gerald Tjoflat, who recently announced his own intention to take…
Judge Tjoflat to Take Senior Status
Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat, the longest-serving federal judge in active service, has announced his intention to take senior status. Judge Tjoflat was appointed to the federal bench by President Nixon and to the then-Fifth Circuit by President Ford. In 1995, the Duke Law Journal published this tribute to Judge Tjoflat by Chief Justice Rehnquist, among…