Myrna Pérez

Second Circuit
	Court of Appeals
Judgeships
	Posts: 13
	Judges: 13
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Debra Livingston
	Active judges: Joseph Bianco, Maria Araujo Kahn, Eunice Lee, Debra Livingston, Raymond Lohier, Steven Menashi, Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam, William Nardini, Alison J. Nathan, Michael H. Park, Myrna Pérez, Beth Robinson, Richard Sullivan; Senior judges:; Jose Cabranes, Guido Calabresi, Susan L. Carney, Denny Chin, Dennis Jacobs, Amalya Kearse, Pierre Leval, Gerard Lynch, Jon Newman, Barrington Parker, Jr., Rosemary Pooler, Reena Raggi, Robert Sack, Chester Straub, John Walker, Richard Wesley

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Myrna Pérez
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 132 days after nomination.
	Nominated: June 15, 2021
	ABA Rating: Substantial majority qualified/Minority well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: July 14, 2021
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: August 5, 2021
	Confirmed: October 25, 2021
	Vote: 48-43

Myrna Pérez is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on June 15, 2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 25, 2021, by a vote of 48-43.^[1]^[2]^[3] Pérez 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 Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to her nomination, Pérez was the director of the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program at the NYU School of Law.^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (2021-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On June 15, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pérez to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. She was confirmed by a 48-43 vote of the U.S. Senate on October 25, 2021.^[1]^[2]^[3] Pérez received commission on November 12, 2021.^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Pérez by a vote of 48-43 on October 25, 2021.^[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Pérez confirmation vote (October 25, 2021)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	2
Republican	0	43	7
Independent	2	0	0
Total	48	43	9

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Pérez's nomination on July 14, 2021. The committee voted to advance Pérez's nomination to the full Senate on August 5, 2021.

Nomination

On June 15, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pérez to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Pérez was nominated to replace Judge Denny Chin, who assumed senior status on June 1, 2021.^[2]^[5]

The American Bar Association rated Pérez Qualified by a substantial majority and Well Qualified by a minority.^[6] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Pérez earned a B.A. from Yale University in 1996, an M.P.P. from Harvard Kennedy School in 1998, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2003.^[1]

Professional career

2021-present: Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
2016-2021: Lecturer-in-law, Columbia Law School, New York, New York
2006-2021: Director, Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program, NYU School of Law, New York, New York
2013-2015: Adjunct professor, NYU School of Law, New York, New York
2005-2006: Civil rights fellow, Relman, Dane & Colfax, Washington, D.C.
2004-2005: Law clerk, Judge Julio Fuentes, United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
2003-2004: Law clerk, Judge Anita Brody, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania^[1]

About the court

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Appeals are heard in the Thurgood Marshall Federal Courthouse in New York City.

Four judges of the Second Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. John Marshall Harlan II was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1955 by Dwight Eisenhower, Thurgood Marshall was appointed in 1967 by Lyndon Johnson, and Sonia Sotomayor was appointed in 2009 by Barack Obama.

The Second Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Sonia Sotomayor is the circuit justice for the Second Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit's territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. The court has appellate jurisdiction over the United States district courts in the following federal judicial districts:

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.