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

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News Release from The White House, August 30, 2023

The President is announcing his intent to nominate four 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 thirty-seventh round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 184.

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 23 nominees to serve as U.S. Marshals.

United States District Court Announcements

1. Colleen Holland: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of New York

Colleen Holland has served as special counsel to Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, since 2021, and as a career law clerk to Judge Wolford since 2018. Ms. Holland previously served as a law clerk for Judge Wolford from 2014 to 2016 and for Judge Michael A. Telesca on the same court from 2017 to 2018. Previously, Ms. Holland was an associate in private practice at Boylan Code L.L.P. from 2016 to 2017; LeClairRyan, P.C. from 2012 to 2014; and Nixon Peabody L.L.P. from 2010 to 2012. Ms. Holland received her J.D., summa cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 2010, and her joint B.A. and B.S. from the University of Rochester in 2006.

2.  Judge John A. Kazen: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

John A. Kazen has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Texas since 2018. Previously, Judge Kazen was a partner at the law firm he established, Kazen, Meurer, & Pérez, L.L.P., from 1997 to 2018. Before that, he was a civil litigator at Kemp, Smith, Duncan, & Hammond, P.C. from 1991 to 1997. Judge Kazen served as a law clerk for Judge Robert Parker on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas from 1990 to 1991. He received his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1990 and his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987.

3. Micah W. J. Smith: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii

Micah W. J. Smith has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii since 2018. He is currently Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division and Criminal Civil Rights Coordinator in that office. He has also been the office’s Chief of Appeals and Legal Strategy since 2022. Previously, Mr. Smith served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2012 to 2018. From 2008 to 2012, he was an associate and counsel at O’Melveny & Myers L.L.P. in Washington, D.C. Mr. Smith served as a law clerk for Justice David H. Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2007 to 2008 and Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Smith received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2006 and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in 2003.

4. Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands

Ramona Manglona has served as the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands since 2011. From 2003 to 2011, Chief Judge Manglona served as an Associate Judge of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Superior Court. From 2004 to 2008, she also served as Justice Pro Tempore on the Guam Supreme Court. Chief Judge Manglona was previously the Deputy Attorney General in 2002 and then the Attorney General of the CNMI from 2002 to 2003. As an Assistant Attorney General in the CNMI Office of the Attorney General from 1998 to 2002, she served as a prosecutor and then a civil litigator. Chief Judge Manglona served as a law clerk to the CNMI Superior Court from 1997 to 1998. She received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1996 and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1990.

United States Marshal Announcements

1. David O. Barnett Jr.: Nominee for United States Marshal for the District of New Mexico

David Barnett has served as a Counterintelligence Supervisory Special Agent in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 2018. Previously, Mr. Barnett was a Special Agent in the Washington, D.C. Field Office of the FBI. Prior to becoming an FBI Special Agent in 2006, he was an FBI Intelligence Analyst and support staff in the National Capital Region from 1990 to 2006. Mr. Barnett received his B.A. from the University of Phoenix in 2002.

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