President Biden Names Forty-Third Round of Judicial Nominees

The President is announcing his intent to nominate five individuals to federal district courts and one individual to the Court of Federal Claims—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-third round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 209.

The President is also announcing his intent to nominate two individuals to serve as U.S. Marshals. These officials will be indispensable to upholding the rule of law and were chosen for their devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials, and their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all.

The President has now announced 26 nominees to serve as U.S. Marshals.

United States District Court Announcements

1. Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Utah

Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen has been a judge on Utah’s Fifth District Court in Cedar City since 2020. She previously worked at Southern Utah University, where she served as Special Counsel and Director of Ethics and Compliance from 2016 to 2017 then as General Counsel from 2018 to 2020. Judge Allen also worked as a solo practitioner from 2013 to 2020. From 2007 to 2013, Judge Allen served as a Deputy County Attorney for the Iron County Attorney’s Office in Cedar City. She joined that office after working in private practice at Jensen, Graff and Barnes, LLP from 2001 to 2004 and at Allen Law, PC from 2004 to 2007. Judge Allen received her J.D. from Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1997 and her B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1994.

2. Judge Susan M. Bazis: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska

Judge Susan M. Bazis has been a United States Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska since 2017. From 2007 to 2016, she served as a Douglas County Court Judge, including as the Presiding Judge from 2010 to 2013. Judge Bazis previously worked in private practice as a solo practitioner from 2001 to 2007 and as an associate at Paragas Law Offices from 1991 to 2001. From 1996 to 1999, Judge Bazis was an associate at Kelly, Lehan, & Hall, P.C. after serving as an Assistant Public Defender in the Douglas County Public Defender’s Office from 1994 to 1996. She received her J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1993 and her B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1990.

3. Ernesto “Ernest” Gonzalez: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas

Ernest Gonzalez has been a Senior Attorney Advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section since 2023. Previously, Mr. Gonzalez served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas from 2003 to 2023 and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas from 2000 to 2003. From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Gonzalez worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Bexar County in San Antonio, Texas. He received his J.D. from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston in 1993 and his B.A. from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1987.

4. Judge Kelly H. Rankin: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming

Judge Kelly H. Rankin has been the Chief United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Wyoming since 2012. Previously, Judge Rankin served as Criminal Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming from 2010 to 2012. Before that, Judge Rankin served as counsel to Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal in 2010 and as United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming from 2008 to 2010. Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Judge Rankin served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the district from 2003 to 2008. From 1999 to 2003, Judge Rankin served as the Park County Attorney after working as a Deputy County Attorney in the Park County Attorney’s Office from 1995 to 1998. Judge Rankin was also a Deputy County Attorney in the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office from 1994 to 1995. Judge Rankin received his J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1994 and his B.S. from the University of Wyoming in 1990.

5. Judge Leon Schydlower: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas

Judge Leon Schydlower has been a United States Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas since 2015. He previously worked in private practice as a solo practitioner from 2002 to 2015 and was a partner and associate at El Paso’s Kemp Smith law firm from 2000 to 2002. Before returning home to El Paso, Judge Schydlower worked as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii from 1998 to 2000. From 1996 to 1998 Judge Schydlower served as a trial attorney on active duty in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Judge Schydlower was in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2000 to 2004 and has served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps since 2010, where he currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Judge Schydlower received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1995 and his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993.

United States Court of Federal Claims Announcement

1. Judge Robin M. Meriweather: Nominee for the United States Court of Federal Claims

Judge Robin M. Meriweather has been a United States Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2017. Judge Meriweather previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia from 2007 to 2017, including as the Deputy Chief of the Civil Division in that office from 2011 to 2017. From 1999 to 2007, she worked in private practice as an associate at Jenner and Block LLP. Judge Meriweather clerked for Judge Merrick B. Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1998 to 1999. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1998 and her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1995.

United States Marshal Announcements

1. Joseph R. “Joe” Adams: Nominee for United States Marshal for the Northern District of West Virginia

Joe R. Adams has been Chief of Police in Westover, West Virginia, since 2020. He previously served in the West Virginia State Police from 1990 to 2015, rising from the rank of Trooper to Senior Investigator with the Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Mr. Adams received his M.S. in Criminal Justice in 1992, his Associate’s Degree in Police Science in 1991, and his B.S. in Criminal Justice in 1988, all from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.

2. Gary D. Grimes: Nominee for United States Marshal for the Western District of Arkansas

Gary D. Grimes has been the principal owner of Grimes & Associates, LLC, a law enforcement, security, and government affairs consultancy, since 2011. He previously served as Liaison to Law Enforcement and Emergency Management for Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe from 2007 to 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Grimes served in multiple positions as a law enforcement officer in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas between 1970 to 1999, including as the Sheriff of Sebastian County, Arkansas from 1989 to 1999. He studied Criminal Justice at Jefferson Junior College from 1972-1973.

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