Rachel Bloomekatz

Sixth Circuit
	Court of Appeals
Judgeships
	Posts: 16
	Judges: 16
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Jeffrey Sutton
	Active judges: Rachel Bloomekatz, John K. Bush, Eric Clay, Stephanie Dawkins Davis, Richard Griffin, Whitney Hermandorfer, Raymond Kethledge, Joan Larsen, Andre Mathis, Karen Moore, Eric Murphy, John Nalbandian, Chad Readler, Kevin Ritz, Jeffrey Sutton, Amul Thapar; Senior judges:; Alice Batchelder, Danny Boggs, R. Guy Cole Jr., Deborah Cook, Martha Daughtrey, Julia Gibbons, Ronald Gilman, Ralph Guy, David McKeague, Alan Norris, John M. Rogers, James Ryan, Eugene Siler, Richard Suhrheinrich, Helene White

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Rachel Bloomekatz
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 419 days after nomination.
	Nominated: May 25, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: June 22, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: August 4, 2022 (initial nomination)/February 9, 2023 (second nomination)
	Confirmed: July 18, 2023
	Vote: 50-48

Rachel S. Bloomekatz is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. she was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on May 25, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 18, 2023, by a vote of 50-48.^[1]^[2] Bloomekatz 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 6th 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 6th Circuit, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Bloomekatz was a solo practitioner at Bloomekatz Law LLC, which she founded in 2019 in Columbus, Ohio.^[3]^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On May 25, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Bloomekatz to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.^[5] Bloomekatz received commission on DATE.^[6] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Bloomekatz by a vote of 50-48 on July 18, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Bloomekatz confirmation vote (July 18, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	0
Republican	0	48	2
Independent	3	0	0
Total	50	48	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Bloomekatz's nomination on June 22, 2022. On August 4, 2022, the committee cast a tie vote to report Bloomekatz to the full United States Senate for a confirmation vote. As a result, Bloomekatz was not reported favorably to the full Senate. As of August 4, 2022, she was awaiting a vote from the U.S. Senate to discharge her nomination from the committee.^[4]

Bloomekatz's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[8] The president renominated Bloomekatz on the same day.^[1] In a committee hearing on February 9, 2023, Bloomekatz was reported to the full Senate, after a 11-10 committee vote.^[2]

Nomination

On May 25, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Bloomekatz to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.^[5]

Bloomekatz was nominated to replace Judge R. Guy Cole, who plans on assuming senior status.^[5]

The American Bar Association rated Bloomekatz Well qualified.^[9] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Bloomekatz's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[10] The president renominated Bloomekatz on the same day.^[1]

Biography

Education

Bloomekatz obtained her A.B., magna cum laude, in social sciences from Harvard University in 2004 and her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, where she was Order of the Coif, in 2008. During her legal studies, she was a member of the UCLA Law Review and the Chicano/a Latino/a Law Review.^[11]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
2019-2023: Solo practitioner, Bloomekatz Law LLC
May-November 2020: State counsel for Ohio, Joe Biden presidential campaign
2016-2019: Principal, Gupta Wessler PLLC
2013-2015: Associate, Jones Day LLC
August-November 2012: Legal director, Campaign to re-elect Senator Sherrod Brown (D)
2011-2012: Law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court of the United States
2010-2011: Assistant attorney general, Office of the Attorney General in Boston, Massachusetts
2009-2010: Law clerk to Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
2008-2009: Law clerk to Judge Guido Calabresi, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit^[11]

Associations

Jewish Family Services^[11]

About the court

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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.

The Sixth Circuit has 16 authorized judicial posts. The chief judge of the court is Jeffrey Sutton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). Six of the judges on the court were appointed by Donald Trump (R).

Appeals are heard in the Potter Stewart United States Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Four judges of the Sixth Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Howell Edmunds Jackson was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1893 by Benjamin Harrison (R), William R. Day was appointed in 1903 by Theodore Roosevelt (R), Horace Harmon Lurton was appointed in 1909 by William Howard Taft (R), and Potter Stewart was appointed in 1958 by Dwight Eisenhower (R).

The Sixth 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 Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Brett Kavanaugh is the circuit justice for the Sixth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 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.