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Melissa DuBose

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Melissa DuBose

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

Tenure

2025 - Present

Years in position

Predecessor:William E. Smith (Nonpartisan)

Education

Bachelor's

Providence College, 1990

Law

Roger Williams School of Law, 2004

Contact

Official website

Melissa DuBose is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. She was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on February 1, 2024, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on March 12, 2024, by a vote of 51-47.^[1]^[2] DuBose 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 District Court for the District of Rhode Island is one of 94U.S. District Courts. They are the generaltrial courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the court,click here.

Prior to joining the court, DuBose was an associate judge on the Rhode Island District Court in Providence.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (2025-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On February 1, 2024, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated DuBose to theUnited States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. She was confirmed by a 51-47 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 12, 2024.^[1] DuBose received commission on January 2, 2025.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Melissa DuBose
Court:United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
Progress
Confirmed 40 days after nomination.
ANominated: February 1, 2024
AABA Rating: Qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: February 8, 2024
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: March 7, 2024
AConfirmed: March 12, 2024
AVote: 51-47

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed DuBose by a vote of 51-47 on March 12, 2024.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

DuBose confirmation vote (March 12, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	1	1
Republican	2	43	1
Independent	3	0	0
Total	51^[4]	47	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on DuBose's nomination on February 8, 2024. DuBose was reported to the full Senate on March 7, 2024, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[5]

Nomination

On January 10, 2024, PresidentJoe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Melissa DuBose to theUnited States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The president officially nominated DuBose on February 1, 2024.^[1]Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by PresidentJoe Biden.

TheAmerican Bar Association (ABA) rated DuBosequalified.^[6] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

DuBose was nominated to replace JudgeWilliam E. Smith, who announced he would assumesenior status upon DuBose's commission.^[7]

Biography

Education

DuBose earned a bachelor's degree from Providence College in 1990 and a law degree from Roger Williams School of Law in 2004.^[3]

Professional career

2025-present: Judge,United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
2019-2025: Associate judge on the Rhode Island District Court in Providence
2008-2019: Senior legal counsel, Schneider Electric
2005-2008: Special assistant attorney general, State of Rhode Island
1994-2005: Teacher^[2]

About the court

The Western District of Pennsylvania hasoriginal jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Western District of Pennsylvania consists of all the followingcounties in the western part of the state ofPennsylvania.

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.