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Candace Jackson-Akiwumi

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Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Tenure

2021 - Present

Years in position

Education

Bachelor's

Princeton University, 2000

Law

Yale Law School, 2005

Candace Jackson-Akiwumi is a judge on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Jackson-Akiwumi was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on April 19, 2021, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on June 24, 2021, by a vote of 53-40.^[1]^[2]^[3] Jackson-Akiwumi was one of 235Article III judges nominated by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed byJoe Biden,click here.

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit is one of 13U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediateappellate courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the D.C. Circuit Court,click here.

Prior to her nomination, Jackson-Akiwumi was a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder, LLP inWashington, D.C..^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

Possible Joe Biden nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court

On January 27, 2022,United States Supreme Court JusticeStephen Breyer officially announced he would retire at the start of the court's summer recess, which typically took place in late June or early July.^[4]^[5]NBC News had previously reported the retirement on January 26.^[6] On February 15, Biden announced he would nominateKetanji Brown Jackson.^[7]

PresidentJoe Biden (D) did not announce a list of nominees he was considering. During the retirement announcement, Biden said that: "The person I will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court."^[8]

Jackson-Akiwumi was mentioned by two or more media outlets as a possible nominee to fill Breyer's seat on the court.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]Click here to read more about the vacancy and nomination process.

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (2021-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On April 19, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Jackson-Akiwumi to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She was confirmed by a 53-40 vote on June 24, 2021. She received commission on July 1, 2021.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
Court:United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 66 days after nomination.
ANominated: April 19, 2021
AABA Rating:Well qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: April 28, 2021

QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: May 20, 2021
AConfirmed: June 24, 2021
AVote: 53-40

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Jackson-Akiwumi on June 24, 2021, on a vote of 53-40.^[13] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Candace Jackson-Akiwumi confirmation vote (June 24, 2021)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	0
Republican	3	40	7
Independent	2	0	0
Total	53	40	7

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Jackson-Akiwumi's nomination on April 28, 2021. The committee voted to advance Jackson-Akiwumi's nomination to the full Senate on May 20, 2021.

Nomination

On March 30, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Jackson-Akiwumi to a seat on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. The president officially nominated Jackson-Akiwumi on April 19.^[1]^[3]

Jackson-Akiwumi was nominated to replace JudgeJoel Flaum, who assumedsenior status on November 30, 2020.^[3]^[14]

TheAmerican Bar Association rated Jackson-AkiwumiWell Qualified.^[15] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Education

Candace Jackson-Akiwumi earned a bachelor's degree, with honors, from Princeton University in 2000. She earned aJ.D. from Yale Law School in 2005.^[3]

Professional career

2020-2021: Partner, Zuckerman Spaeder, LLP,Washington, D.C.
2010-2020: Staff attorney, Federal Defender Program,Northern District of Illinois
2007-2010: Litigation associate, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP,Chicago, Illinois
2006-2007: Law clerk to JudgeRoger Gregory, Judge with theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
2005-2006: Law clerk to JudgeDavid H. Coar, Judge with theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois^[3]

About the court

Seventh Circuit
Court of Appeals

Judgeships
Posts: 11
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:Michael B. Brennan
Active judges:Michael B. Brennan,Frank Easterbrook,Candace Jackson-Akiwumi,Thomas L. Kirsch II,Joshua Kolar,John Z. Lee,Nancy Maldonado,Doris Pryor,Michael Scudder,Amy St. Eve,Rebecca Taibleson Senior judges: David Hamilton,Daniel Manion,Kenneth Ripple,Ilana Rovner,Diane Sykes,Diane Wood

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is afederal appellate court with appellatejurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to theSupreme Court of the United States.

Appeals are heard in the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Building in downtownChicago.

Three judges of the Seventh Circuit went on to serve on theSupreme Court of the United States.Sherman Minton was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1949 byHarry Truman (D),John Paul Stevens was appointed in 1975 byGerald Ford (R), andAmy Coney Barrett was appointed in 2020 byDonald Trump (R).

Map of the Seventh Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The 7th Circuit hasappellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the 7th Circuit are petitioned to theSupreme Court of the United States. JusticeAmy Coney Barrett is thecircuit justice for the 7th Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has appellatejurisdiction over thecourts in the followingdistricts:

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by theSenate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends ablue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.