Michelle Childs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
| Assumed office July 25, 2022 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | David S. Tatel |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of South Carolina | |
| In office August 20, 2010 – August 2, 2022 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | G. Ross Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Jacquelyn D. Austin |
| Judge of theSouth Carolina Circuit Court for the 5th circuit | |
| In office 2006–2010 | |
| Preceded by | Reggie Lloyd |
| Succeeded by | Stephanie McDonald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Julianna Michelle Childs 1966 (age 58–59) |
| Spouse | Floyd Angus |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of South Florida (BA) University of South Carolina (MA,JD) Duke University (LLM) |
Julianna Michelle Childs (born 1966) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was previously a United States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of South Carolina from 2010 to 2022 and a judge of theSouth Carolina Circuit Court from 2006 to 2010.
Childs was under consideration by PresidentJoe Biden to fill retiring JusticeStephen Breyer's seat on theSupreme Court of the United States, but Biden instead nominatedKetanji Brown Jackson for Breyer's seat in February 2022.
Childs was born in 1966 inDetroit, Michigan.[1][2] Her parents divorced when she was young. Her father, Ralph "Pete" Childs, was a championping pong player who won the U.S. Junior Championship in 1964 at age 16; he joined theDetroit Police Department as an officer in 1970.[3] Her mother, Shandra (née Green),[4] a personnel manager for MichiganBell Telephone, decided to move toColumbia, South Carolina, when Childs was 14 years old due to rising crime in Detroit. Childs' father remained in Detroit and died in 1980 at age 32 from a gunshot wound, possibly self-inflicted.[3][5] She attendedColumbia High School, where she graduated in 1984 asclass president andvaledictorian.[1][6] She also took part in youthbeauty pageants and won the Miss Black Florida pageant in 1986.[3]
Childs was inspired to pursue a legal career after participating inmock trial programs, first in high school and later at theUniversity of South Florida, which she attended on scholarship.[1][7][8] She is a member ofDelta Sigma Theta sorority. She graduatedcum laude in 1988 with aBachelor of Arts degree in management from the University of South Florida.[9] She enrolled at theUniversity of South Carolina School of Law, wanting to practice law in her home state,[1] and graduated in 1991 with aJuris Doctor.[10] Childs also earned aMaster of Arts degree in personnel and employment relations from theUniversity of South Carolina School of Business in 1991.[10][11] In 2016, she received herMaster of Laws in judicial studies fromDuke University School of Law.[12]
In 1991, Childs was hired as alaw clerk atNexsen Pruet, a firm that represents employers inlabor law litigation.[1] She was a fullassociate at the firm from 1992 to 1999, and became the first Black womanpartner at a major South Carolina law firm when she was named a Nexsen Pruet partner in 2000.[3][8] During her time at the firm, Childs gained a reputation for being an expert inemployment andlabor law.[8]
After working for Nexsen Pruet, Childs worked in the state government for six years. From 2000 to 2002, Childs served as the deputy director of the division of labor with theSouth Carolina Department of Labor during the administration ofSouth Carolina GovernorJim Hodges.[13] From 2002 until 2006, she served as a commissioner on the South CarolinaWorkers' Compensation Commission.[8]
In 2006, she was elected by theSouth Carolina General Assembly to becomeRichland CountyCircuit Court Judge based inColumbia.[11] During her time as a state judge, she helmed a special business court pilot program and became chief judge for General Sessions, South Carolina's Criminal Court.[8]
Childs has received criticism from the magazineThe American Prospect for sentencing a non-violent man to prison for 12 years for selling eight ounces of marijuana in a 2009 case, while Childs was a circuit court judge.[14]
On December 22, 2009, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Childs to serve on theUnited States District Court for the District of South Carolina, to fill the seat vacated by JudgeG. Ross Anderson, who assumedsenior status on January 29, 2009.[10] On April 16, 2010, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On May 6, 2010, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee.[15] Her nomination was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on August 5, 2010.[16] She received her commission on August 20, 2010.[17] Her service on the district court terminated on August 2, 2022, when she was elevated to the Court of Appeals.[11]
Childs was elected to theAmerican Law Institute in 2011[18] and served as an adviser on theRestatement Third, Employment Law, an influential legal treatise that was published in 2015.[19][20] She also served on an ALI Regional Advisory Group, helping to identify and recommend new members in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.[citation needed] In 2020, Childs was elected chair of the judicial division of theAmerican Bar Association.[21] In February 2021, Childs was promoted as a potentialSupreme Court nominee underthe Biden administration by U.S. RepresentativeJim Clyburn of South Carolina.[22][23]
In November 2014, Childs ruled in favor of two women who sued to have the state recognize their marriage performed in Washington, D.C., finding South Carolina's failure to recognize their marriage to be unconstitutional.[24][25]
In September 2020, Childs granted apreliminary injunction that blocked South Carolina'sabsentee ballot witness requirement.[26] AUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit panel initially blocked the injunction granted by Childs, but the full appeals court reinstated it during anen banc session. Ultimately, the injunction was struck down by theU.S. Supreme Court.[27]
Childs has made two decisions related to nuclear reactor facilities in South Carolina. First, in August 2018, Childs refused toenjoin a state law that forced a state utility to cut its customers' rates after thefailed construction of two new nuclear reactors inFairfield County.[28] Second, in December 2021, Childs refused to block avaccine mandate for workers at a South Carolina nuclear facility. Childs ruled that the company did not have to continue employing someone who refused to get vaccinated.[29] Childs again received criticism fromThe American Prospect regarding her criminal rulings.[30]
On January 28, 2022, the White House stated that Childs was among those being considered for nomination to theU.S. Supreme Court, to fill the seat would be vacated after JusticeStephen Breyer's retirement.[31][32] Two days later, one of her home-state U.S. Senators from South Carolina, RepublicanLindsey Graham, publicly voiced his support for her potential nomination.[33] Childs' surprising ascent from district court judge to Supreme Court finalist can also be attributed toJim Clyburn, the House majority whip, who had been lobbying Biden to nominate Childs notwithstanding concerns over Childs' moderate record as a judge and trial lawyer.[34] Labor rights groups voiced their disapproval with Childs' consideration for the U.S. Supreme Court, given her private sector experience working at a law firm many considered to be an "anti-union" law firm.[35]On February 22, 2022, President Biden ultimately choseD.C. Circuit JudgeKetanji Brown Jackson to fill Breyer's seat.[36]
In January 2021, U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn sent a letter to President Biden'stransition team encouraging Biden to nominate Childs to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[37] On December 23, 2021, Biden announced Childs as his nominee for that court,[38] and her nomination was sent to the Senate on January 10, 2022. She was nominated to the seat to be vacated by JudgeDavid S. Tatel, who announced his intent to assumesenior status upon confirmation of a successor.[39][37] On April 27, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[40] On May 26, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 17–5 vote.[41] On July 11, 2022, Majority WhipDick Durbin filedcloture on her nomination.[42] On July 14, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 58–33 vote.[43] On July 19, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 64–34 vote.[44] She received her judicial commission on July 25, 2022.[11]
Childs is married to Floyd Angus, agastroenterologist, and they have one daughter.[1] She is aRoman Catholic and serves as a trustee on the board ofColumbia's St. Martin de Porres Catholic School.[45][46]
A valedictorian and student body president of her public high school in Columbia
Restatements have been influential, perhaps even highly influential. They have been frequently cited by courts, commentators and legislators as either authoritative statements of the law or correct analyses of the law.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Judge J. Michelle Childs of South Carolina, is a Black Catholic.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of South Carolina 2010–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 2022–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
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| Other | |
