Jerry Edwards Jr.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Jerry Edwards Jr.
	Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Progress
	Confirmed 189 days after nomination.
	Nominated: June 8, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: July 12, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: September 14, 2023
	Confirmed: December 14, 2023
	Vote: 66-24

Jerry Edwards Jr. is a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on June 8, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 14, 2023, by a vote of 66-24.^[1]^[2]^[3] Edwards was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Edwards Jr. was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana.^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On June 8, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Jerry Edwards Jr. to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.^[1] Edwards Jr. received commission on December 22, 2023.^[5] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Edwards by a vote of 66-24 on December 14, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Edwards confirmation vote (December 14, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	2
Republican	17	24	8
Independent	3	0	0
Total	66^[6]	24	10

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Edwards' nomination on July 12, 2023. Edwards was reported to the full Senate on September 14, 2023, after a 16-5 committee vote.^[7]

Nomination

On June 8, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Edwards to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.^[1] Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

Edwards was nominated to replace Judge Michael Juneau, who assumed senior status on February 1, 2022.^[8]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Edwards well qualified.^[9] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Edwards obtained a B.A. from Georgia State University and a J.D. from the Vermont Law School.^[4]

Career

2023-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
2022-2023: First Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana
2020-2022: Chief of the Civil Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana
2019-2020: Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana
2014-2019: Shareholder and director, Blanchard, Walker, O’Quin & Roberts, A.P.L.C
2006-2014: Associate, Blanchard, Walker, O’Quin & Roberts, A.P.L.C
2005-2006: law clerk to the Hon. Jeanette Garrett and Hon Scott Crichton of the 1st Judicial District, Louisiana

About the court

The Parishes of the Western District of Louisiana (click for larger map)

The Western District of Louisiana has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Western District of Louisiana consists of the following parishes in the western part of the state of Louisiana:^[10]

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.