President Biden Names Forty-Seventh Round of Judicial Nominees and Announces One New Nominee to Serve as U.S. Marshal

The President is announcing his intent to nominate one individual to a federal circuit court, four individuals to federal district courts, and two individuals to the District of Columbia Superior Court—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-seventh round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 229.

The President is also announcing his intent to nominate one individual to serve as U.S. Marshal. This official will be indispensable to upholding the rule of law and was chosen for his devotion to enforcing the law, his professionalism, his experience and credentials, and his dedication to pursuing equal justice for all.

The President has now announced 28 nominees to serve as U.S. Marshals.

United States Circuit Court Announcement

1. Kevin G. Ritz: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Kevin G. Ritz has served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee since 2022. From 2005 to 2022, Mr. Ritz worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, where he served as Appellate Chief from 2018 to 2022, Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney from 2011 to 2022, and Criminal Appellate Chief from 2010 to 2018. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ritz served as a law clerk for Judge Julia Smith Gibbons on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 2004 to 2005. Mr. Ritz also served as Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section and President of the Memphis/Mid-South Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2004, his M.S. from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1999, and his B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Virginia in 1997.

United States District Court Announcements

1. Brian E. Murphy: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Brian E. Murphy has been a partner at Murphy & Rudolf LLP since 2011. The firm was known as Murphy & Vander Salm LLP from 2012 to 2016. Mr. Murphy was previously an Associate Attorney at Todd and Weld LLP from 2009 to 2011 and a public defender at the Committee for Public Counsel Services from 2006 to 2009. Mr. Murphy also served as a supervising attorney for the Worcester County Bar Advocates from 2015 to 2019. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2006 and his B.A. from The College of Holy Cross in 2002.

2. Judge Rebecca L. Pennell: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Judge Rebecca L. Pennell has been a judge on the Washington Court of Appeals in Spokane since 2016. She was previously a public defender with the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho from 2000 to 2016. From 1999 to 2000, Judge Pennell was a Skadden Fellow at TeamChild, an organization that provides legal services to youths in Yakima, Washington. She served as a law clerk for Judge Robert Whaley on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington from 1997 to 1999. Judge Pennell received her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1996 and her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Washington in 1993.

3. Detra Shaw-Wilder: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Detra Shaw-Wilder has been an attorney in private practice at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton in Coral Gables, Florida since 1994, rising from associate to partner. From 2015 to 2017, Ms. Shaw-Wilder was managing partner of the firm and has served as general counsel for the firm since 2017. She received her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1994 and her B.S. from the University of Florida in 1990.

4. Jeannette Vargas: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Jeannette Vargas has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York since 2002. She has served as Deputy Chief in the Civil Division of that office since 2016 and was previously Senior Trial Counsel from 2014 to 2016 and Chief of the Tax and Bankruptcy Unit from 2010 to 2014. Before that, Ms. Vargas worked as an associate at Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP from 2000 to 2001. In between private practice and joining the U.S. Attorney’s office, she served as a law clerk for Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2001 to 2002. Ms. Vargas received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 2000 and her A.B, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1995.

District of Columbia Superior Court Announcements

1. Judge Rahkel Bouchet: Nominee for the District of Columbia Superior Court

Judge Rahkel Bouchet has been a Magistrate Judge for the District of Columbia Superior Court since 2016 and is currently the Deputy Presiding Magistrate Judge. Judge Bouchet was also the Presiding Judge for the D.C. Family Treatment Court, within the D.C. Superior Court, in 2017. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Bouchet worked as a solo practitioner from 1998 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2015. In 2007, Judge Bouchet was a structured-settlements counsel at Seneca One LLC. In addition to her private practice, Judge Bouchet was previously the Supervising Attorney of the Child Welfare/Family Justice Clinic at Howard University School of Law from 2013 to 2015. She received her J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 1997 and her B.A., cum laude, from Howard University in 1993.

2. John Cuong Truong: Nominee for the District of Columbia Superior Court

John Cuong Truong has been a Deputy Chief in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia since 2022. He first joined that office in its Civil Division in 2005 and previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division from 2008 to 2013. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Truong worked as an associate at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, LLP from 1998 to 2004. Mr. Truong served as a law clerk for Judge Ricardo M. Urbina on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1997 to 1998. He received his J.D. from American University in 1997 and his M.A. in 2003, and his B.A. from the University of Southern California in 1993.

United States Marshal Announcement

1. Bobby Jack Woods: Nominee for United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Kentucky

Bobby Jack Woods served as the elected Sheriff of Boyd County, Kentucky from 2015 to 2023. He previously worked as a Floyd County Commonwealth Detective for the Kentucky Commonwealth Attorney’s Office from 2006 to 2014 after serving for nearly twenty years in the Kentucky State Police from 1984 to 2004. Earlier in his law enforcement career, Mr. Woods was a Boyd County Police Officer from 1979 to 1984. He graduated from the Kentucky State Police Academy in 1985.

###