President Biden Names Forty-Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees

The President is announcing his intent to nominate seven individuals to federal district courts—all of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country—both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

This will be President Biden’s forty-eighth round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 236.

United States District Court Announcements

1. Judge Michelle Williams Court: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California

Judge Michelle Williams Court has been a judge on the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County since 2012, and supervising judge in the Court’s civil division since 2023. Previously, Judge Court worked as an attorney and later vice president and general counsel at Bet Tzedek Legal Services from 2002 to 2011. Before that, Judge Court worked as a senior associate at Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach from 2000 to 2002; as a fellow and civil rights specialist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1999 to 2000; as a litigation associate at Litt & Marquez from 1995 to 1999; as a project attorney at the ACLU of Southern California from 1994 to 1995; and as an associate at Gilbert Kelly Crowley & Jennett from 1993 to 1994. Judge Court received her J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1993 and her B.A. from Pomona College in 1988.

2. Judge Anne Hwang: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California

Judge Anne Hwang has been a judge on the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County since 2019. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Hwang served as a Deputy Federal Public Defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California from 2006 to 2018, becoming Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender in 2018. Before that, Judge Hwang worked as a litigation associate at Irell & Manella LLP from 2002 to 2006. She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School in 2002 and her B.A. from Cornell University in 1997.

3. Danna Jackson: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Montana

Danna Jackson has been Tribal Attorney for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Pablo, Montana, since 2023. She previously served at the U.S. Department of the Interior as Senior Counselor to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management and then Senior Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science from 2021 to 2023. Before that, Ms. Jackson served as Chief Legal Counsel at the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in Helena, Montana, from 2016 to 2021 and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Tribal Liaison in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana from 2010 to 2016. Ms. Jackson also worked as a counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP from 2005 to 2010, after serving as a legislative assistant in the United States Senate from 2002 to 2005 and a staff attorney at the National Indian Gaming Commission from 2000 to 2002. She received her J.D. and her B.A. from the University of Montana in 1996 and 1993, respectively.

4. Judge Sarah Netburn: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Judge Sarah Netburn has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York since 2012 and has been the Court’s Chief United States Magistrate Judge since 2024. From 2010 to 2012, Judge Netburn served as the Southern District of New York’s Chief Counsel to the Office of Pro Se Litigation. Prior to her judicial service, Judge Netburn worked from 2002 to 2010 at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP where she rose from associate to partner. She served as a law clerk for Judge Harry Pregerson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2001 to 2002. Judge Netburn received her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law in 2001 and her B.A. from Brown University in 1994.

5. Stacey D. Neumann: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maine

Stacey D. Neumann has worked in private practice at Murray, Plumb & Murray in Portland, Maine since 2013, and has been a partner at the firm since 2017. From 2009 to 2013, Ms. Neumann served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and then an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine. Before that, she was a staff attorney at the Vermont Office of the Defender General in Chittenden County from 2007 to 2009. Ms. Neumann served as a law clerk for Judge Peter W. Hall on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2006 to 2007 and for Judge John A. Dooley on the Vermont Supreme Court from 2005 to 2006. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 2005 and her B.A., magna cum laude, from James Madison University in 2000.

6. April Perry: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

April Perry has been Senior Counsel of Global Investigations and Fraud and Abuse Prevention at GE HealthCare since 2022. She was previously the General Counsel at Ubiety Technologies from 2019 to 2022. From 2017 to 2019, Ms. Perry served as the Chief Deputy State’s Attorney and Chief Ethics Officer for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She also worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois from 2004 to 2016. Ms. Perry served as a law clerk for Judge Joel M. Flaum on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 2003 to 2004. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law in 2003 and her B.S., magna cum laude, from Northwestern University in 2000.

7. Judge Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California

Judge Cynthia Valenzuela has been a judge on the California State Bar Court in Los Angeles since her appointment by the California Supreme Court in 2016. Previously, Judge Valenzuela worked as the Criminal Justice Act Supervising Attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles from 2011 to 2016 and as the head of national litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Los Angeles from 2006 to 2011. Before that, Judge Valenzuela served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California from 2000 to 2006; as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. from 1998 to 2000; and as a Special Assistant at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Los Angeles from 1995 to 1998. She received her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law in 1995 and her B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1991.

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