(Washington, D.C.) — For the first time in two decades, the U.S. Senate has confirmed a Black woman to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Candace Jackson-Akiwumi was confirmed with bipartisan support and is a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder, LLP. Previously, she spent 10 years as a federal public defender in the Northern District of Illinois.
The following is a statement from Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
“Candace Jackson-Akiwumi’s exceptional credentials and track record of defending and protecting the rights of all people, particularly the rights of low-income Black and Brown Americans and immigrants, gives us the utmost confidence in her ability to serve as a fair and impartial judge. She has extensive civil and criminal litigation experience, and her work as a federal public defender makes her the right person to fill this role. She has successfully argued, and won, a number of notable cases that fought against racial profiling, and has been integral in advocating against racial bias in sentencing.
“Judge Jackson-Akiwumi’s confirmation brings much-needed racial and professional diversity to the Seventh Circuit, which did not have a single appellate judge of color for the past four years, nor any judge with public defender experience. We applaud her confirmation.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
