Nancy Abudu | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
| Assumed office May 26, 2023 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Beverly B. Martin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nancy Gbana Abudu 1974 (age 50–51) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) Tulane University (JD) |
Nancy Gbana Abudu (born 1974)[1] is an American lawyer fromGeorgia who serves as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Abudu was born and raised inAlexandria, Virginia, the daughter ofimmigrants from Ghana.[2] Abudu was influenced by thePan-Africanist movement politics of her parents, including her father'santi-apartheid activism inSouth Africa.[3] After graduating fromMercersburg Academy in 1992, she earned aBachelor of Arts degree fromColumbia University in 1996 and aJuris Doctor fromTulane University Law School in 1999.[4][5]
After law school, Abudu entered private practice at the law firmSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom from 1999 to 2001. From 2002 to 2004, she served as a staff attorney for theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, where she focused oninternational law andpublic interest law.[6] From 2005 to 2013, she was a staff attorney at theACLU Voting Rights Project. From 2013 to 2019, she was the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. During her time with the ACLU, Abudu specialized invoting rights law.[7] From 2019 to 2023, she worked as the deputy legal director and interim director for strategic litigation at theSouthern Poverty Law Center.[4][8]
In 2009, Abudu was co-counsel for Debra L. Harvey and Catherine M. Beddard, who challengedArizona's felon-restoration statute. Arizona's Constitution provides: "No person who is adjudicated an incapacitated person shall be qualified to vote at any election, nor shall any person convicted of treason or felony, be qualified to vote at any election unless restored to civil rights." The plaintiffs brought suits challenging Arizona's disenfranchisement scheme, arguing the law violated theEqual Protection Clause of theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[9][10]
In 2016, Abudu was co-counsel forThe League of Women Voters of Florida in a lawsuit, claiming that the congressional redistricting plan adopted by theFlorida Legislature violated Article III, Section 20 of the Florida Constitution, by "favoring the Republican Party and its incumbents." Article III, Section 20 was added to the Florida Constitution on November 2, 2010, following the general election and provides in subsection (a) that "[n]o apportionment plan or individual district shall be drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent...."[11][12]
In 2017, Abudu was co-counsel for The Gainesville Woman Care LLC in a case against the state of Florida. They challenged the 2015 amendment to Florida'sinformed consent law for abortion that created a 24–hour waiting period.[13][14]
On December 23, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden announced his intent to nominate Abudu to serve as aUnited States circuit judge for theEleventh Circuit. On January 10, 2022, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Abudu to the seat vacated by JudgeBeverly B. Martin, who retired on September 30, 2021.[15] On April 27, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[16] Her nomination attracted intense Republican opposition due to Abudu's work for theSouthern Poverty Law Center, which has labeled some of the Judiciary Committee's Republican members as "white supremacists".[17]Fox News reported on an article[18] she had written for the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2020, in which she comparedfelon disenfranchisement with the political disenfranchisement of slaves.[19] On May 26, 2022, the committee failed to report her nomination by an 11–11 vote.[20][21] On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President underRule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of theUnited States Senate; she was renominated later the same day.[22]
On February 9, 2023, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by aparty line 11–10 vote.[23] Abudu did not receive any Republican support in the committee because Republicans questioned whether her advocacy work would prevent her from being impartial on the bench.[17] On May 15, 2023, Majority LeaderChuck Schumer filedcloture on her nomination.[24] On May 17, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 50–48 vote.[25] On May 18, 2023, her nomination was confirmed by a 49–47 vote, with SenatorJoe Manchin being the only Democrat to vote against confirmation.[26][27] Senator Manchin's no vote was the first time any Democrat had voted against one of President Biden's judicial nominees.[28][29] She received her judicial commission on May 26, 2023.[30] Abudu is the firstAfrican American woman to sit on the Eleventh Circuit.[31]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 2023–present | Incumbent |