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Sarah Russell
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2024 - Present
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Sarah Russell is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on October 4, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on November 19, 2024, by a vote of 50-44.[1][2][3][4][5] Russell 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 District of Connecticut 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, Russell was a law professor and director of the Civil Justice Clinic at Quinnipiac University School of Law.[1][2]
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (2024-present)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
On October 4, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Russell to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.[1][2] Russell received commission on November 26, 2024.[5] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Sarah Russell |
| Court: United States District Court for the District of Connecticut |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 412 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: October 4, 2023
|
| ABA Rating: Well qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: November 1, 2023
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: November 30, 2023, January 18, 2023 (second)
|
| Confirmed: November 19, 2024
|
| Vote: 50-44
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Russell by a vote of 50-44 on November 19, 2024.[4] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Russell confirmation vote (November 19, 2024) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
47 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
 Republican |
0 | 43 | 6 | ||||||
 Independent |
3 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 50[6] | 44 | 6 | ||||||
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Russell's nomination on November 1, 2023. She was reported to the full Senate on November 30, 2023, after a 11-10 committee vote.[7] After her renomination, Russel was again reported to the full Senate on January 18, 2023, after a 11-10 committee vote.[8]
Nomination
On October 4, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Sarah Russell to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Russell was nominated to replace Judge Sarah A.L. Merriam, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on September 23, 2022.[9]
Russell's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2024. The president renominated Russell on January 8, 2024.[4]
The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Russell well qualified.[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Biography
Education
Russell was born in 1976 in Boston, Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1998, and a law degree from Yale Law School in 2002.[5]
Professional career
- 2024-present: Judge, United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
- 2011-2024: Quinnipiac University School of Law
- 2019-2024: Director of Legal Clinic
- 2016-2024: Member of Executive Committee
- 2015-2024: Director of Criminal Law and Advocacy Concentration
- 2015-2024: Professor
- 2013-2015: Associate professor
- 2011-2013: Assistant professor
- 2007-2010: Associate research scholar, lecturer, and director of Arthur Liman Public Interest Program, Yale Law School
- 2005-2007: Assistant federal public defender, District of Connecticut
- 2003-2005: Law clerk, Hon. Chester J. Straub, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- 2002-2003: Law clerk, Hon. Michael B. Mukasey, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York[5]
About the court
| District of Connecticut |
|---|
| Second Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 8 |
| Judges: 7 |
| Vacancies: 1 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Michael Shea |
| Active judges: Victor Allen Bolden, Kari A. Dooley, Sarala Nagala, Vernon D. Oliver, Sarah Russell, Michael Shea, Omar A. Williams Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut is one of 94 United States district courts. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in lower Manhattan at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse in the New York City area.
The District of Connecticut has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
The jurisdiction of the District of Connecticut consists of all the counties in the state of Connecticut.
The court's headquarters are in New Haven, with additional courthouses in Bridgeport and Hartford.
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.
See also
- United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- Biography from the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The White House, "President Biden Names Thirty-Ninth Round of Judicial Nominees," October 4, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The White House, "Nominations Sent to the Senate," October 4, 2023
- ↑ Congress.gov, PN1067 — Sarah French Russell — The Judiciary," accessed November 30, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Congress.gov, "PN1253 — Sarah French Russell — The Judiciary," accessed January 10, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Federal Judicial Center, "Russell, Sarah French," accessed November 19, 2024
- ↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – November 30, 2023," November 30, 2023
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 18, 2024," January 19, 2023
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Merriam, Sarah Ann Leilani," accessed October 7, 2021
- ↑ [https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/government_affairs_office/emma-web-rating-chart-biden-congress.pdf American Bar Association, "STANDING COMMITTEE ONTHE FEDERAL JUDICIARY," accessed November 28th, 2023]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sarah Ann Leilani Merriam |
United States District Court for the District of Connecticut 2024-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioned in 2025 | |||
| Commissioned in 2024 |
John Kazen • John Russell • Margaret Garnett • Cristal Brisco • Jacquelyn Austin • Gretchen Hess Lund • Micah Smith • Joshua Kolar • Karoline Mehalchick • Kirk Sherriff • Lisa Wang • David Leibowitz • Jacqueline Becerra • Julie Sneed • Melissa Damian • Kelly H. Rankin • Nicole Berner • Sunil Harjani • Leon Schydlower • Ernesto Gonzalez • Susan Bazis • Robert White • Ann Marie McIff Allen • Eumi Lee • Krissa Lanham • Eric Schulte • Camela Theeler • Angela Martinez • Jasmine Yoon • Nancy Maldonado • Meredith Vacca • Georgia Alexakis • Joseph Saporito • Amy Baggio • Stacey Neumann • Mary Kay Lanthier • Adam Abelson • Laura Provinzino • Mary Kay Costello • Dena Coggins • Kevin Ritz • Shanlyn A. S. Park • Byron Conway • Jeannette Vargas • Michelle Williams Court • Jonathan E. Hawley • April Perry • Mustafa Kasubhai • Sarah Russell • Amir Ali • Rebecca Pennell • Anthony Brindisi • Elizabeth Coombe • Cynthia Valenzuela • Anne Hwang • Brian Murphy • Noël Wise • Sanket Bulsara • Tiffany Johnson • Sparkle Sooknanan • Gail Weilheimer • Embry Kidd • Melissa DuBose • Sharad Desai • Serena R. Murillo • Benjamin Cheeks • Sarah Davenport | ||
| Commissioned in 2023 | Kai Scott • Tamika Montgomery-Reeves • Margaret R. Guzman • Daniel Calabretta • Matthew Garcia • DeAndrea G. Benjamin • Cindy Chung • Adrienne Nelson • Lindsay Jenkins • Gina Méndez-Miró • Araceli Martínez-Olguín • Jamar Walker • Ana Reyes • Jamal Whitehead • Gordon Gallagher • Matthew Brookman• Maria Araujo Kahn• James Simmons • Robert Ballou• Andrew Schopler • Jonathan Grey• Colleen Lawless • Arun Subramanian • Jessica Clarke • Robert Kirsch • Michael Farbiarz • Anthony Johnstone • Orelia Merchant • Wesley Hsu • Bradley Garcia • LaShonda A. Hunt • Nancy Gbana Abudu • Amanda Brailsford • Darrel Papillion • Jeremy Daniel • Hernan D. Vera • Julie Rikelman • Nusrat Choudhury • P. Casey Pitts • Myong Joun • Kymberly Evanson • Tiffany Cartwright • Rachel Bloomekatz • Natasha Merle • Dale Ho • Philip Hadji • Rita Lin • Brendan Hurson • Vernon D. Oliver • Matthew Maddox • Julia Munley • Brandy McMillion • Susan DeClercq • Julia Kobick • Ramon Reyes, Jr. • Ana de Alba • Kenly Kiya Kato • Mónica Ramírez Almadani • Jeffrey M. Bryan • Jamel Semper • Irma Ramirez • Richard Federico • Loren AliKhan • Brandon Long • Jerry Edwards Jr.• Sara Hill • Joseph Laroski | ||
| Commissioned in 2022 |
David Herrera Urias • Gabriel Sanchez • Holly Thomas • Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong • David Ruiz • Charles Fleming • Bridget Brennan • Leonard Stark • Alison J. Nathan • John Chun • Julie Rubin • Jacqueline Scott Corley • Ruth Bermudez Montenegro • Victoria Calvert • Georgette Castner • Anne Traum • Cristina Silva • Ketanji Brown Jackson (Supreme Court) • Sarah Geraghty • Hector Gonzalez • Fred Slaughter • Jennifer Rochon • Robert Huie • Sunshine S. Sykes • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Evelyn Padin • Sherilyn P. Garnett • Ana de Alba • J. Michelle Childs • Trina Thompson • Elizabeth Hanes • Nancy Maldonado • Nina Morrison • Gregory Williams • John Z. Lee • Sal Mendoza, Jr. • Lara Montecalvo • Florence Pan • Andre Mathis • Sarah A.L. Merriam • Jennifer Rearden • Roopali Desai • María Antongiorgi-Jordán • Camille Vélez-Rivé • Doris Pryor • Frances Kay Behm • Dana Douglas • Mia Roberts Perez • Anne Nardacci • Jeffery P. Hopkins | ||
| Commissioned in 2021 |
Ketanji Brown Jackson • Zahid Quraishi • Julien Xavier Neals • Deborah Boardman • Regina Rodriguez • Candace Jackson-Akiwumi • Lydia Kay Griggsby • Tiffany Cunningham • Eunice Lee • Angel Kelley • Florence Pan • Veronica Rossman • David G. Estudillo • Sarah A.L. Merriam • Gustavo Gelpí • Christine O'Hearn • Margaret Strickland • Karen McGlashan Williams • Patricia Tolliver Giles • Toby Heytens • Michael Nachmanoff • Sarala Nagala • Beth Robinson • Omar A. Williams • Myrna Pérez • Jia Cobb • Tana Lin • Lauren King • Lucy H. Koh • Jennifer Sung • Samantha Elliott • Katherine Menendez • Mary Dimke • Linda Lopez • Shalina Kumar • Jane Beckering • Jinsook Ohta • Jennifer L. Thurston • Stephen Locher • Charlotte Sweeney • Nina Nin-Yuen Wang • Arianna Freeman • Jerry Blackwell | ||
Federal courts:
Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Connecticut • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Connecticut
State courts:
Connecticut Supreme Court • Connecticut Appellate Court • Connecticut Superior Court • Connecticut Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Connecticut • Connecticut judicial elections • Judicial selection in Connecticut
