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Tiffany Cunningham

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Tiffany Cunningham
Image of Tiffany Cunningham

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Tenure

2021 - Present

Years in position

4

Education

Bachelor's

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998

Law

Harvard Law School, 2001

Tiffany Cunningham is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Cunningham was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on April 19, 2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 19, 2021, by a vote of 63-33.[1][2][3] Cunningham 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 Federal 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 D.C. Circuit Court, click here.

Prior to her nomination, Cunningham was a partner at Perkins Coie LLP in Chicago, Illinois.[2]

Judicial nominations and appointments

Possible Joe Biden nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court

On January 27, 2022, United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer officially announced he would retire at the start of the court's summer recess, which typically took place in late June or early July.[4][5] NBC News had previously reported the retirement on January 26.[6] On February 15, Biden announced he would nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson.[7]

President Joe Biden (D) did not announce a list of nominees he was considering. During the retirement announcement, Biden said that: "The person I will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court."[8]

Cunningham was mentioned by two or more media outlets as a possible nominee to fill Breyer's seat on the court.[9][10][11] Click here to read more about the vacancy and nomination process.

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

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On April 19, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Cunningham to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Cunningham was confirmed by a 63-33 vote of the U.S. Senate on July 19, 2021. Cunningham received commission on August 6, 2021.[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Tiffany Cunningham
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 91 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: April 19, 2021
ApprovedAABA Rating: Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: May 26, 2021
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: June 17, 2021 
ApprovedAConfirmed: July 19, 2021
ApprovedAVote: 63-33


Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Cunningham on July 19, 2021, on a vote of 63-33.[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Tiffany Cunningham confirmation vote (July 19, 2021)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 46 0 2
Ends.png Republican 15 33 2
Grey.png Independent 2 0 0
Total 63 33 4

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Cunningham's nomination on May 26, 2021. The committee voted to advance Cunningham's nomination to the full Senate on June 17, 2021.

Nomination

On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Cunningham to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The president officially nominated Cunningham on April 19.[1][2]

Cunningham was nominated to replace Judge Evan Wallach, who assumed senior status on May 31, 2021.[12]

The American Bar Association rated Cunningham Well Qualified.[13] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Tiffany Cunningham earned a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998. Cunningham earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2001.[2]

Professional career

Cunningham has served as a member with the Patent Litigation practice, as a trial and appellate counsel, and as a registered patent attorney before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.[2]

About the court

Federal Circuit
Court of Appeals
US-CourtOfAppeals-FederalCircuit-Seal.svg
Judgeships
Posts: 12
Judges: 12
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Kimberly Moore
Active judges: William Bryson, Raymond Chen, Raymond Clevenger, Tiffany Cunningham, Timothy Dyk, Kara Farnandez Stoll, Todd Hughes, Richard Linn, Alan Lourie, Haldane Mayer, Kimberly Moore, Pauline Newman, S. Jay Plager, Sharon Prost, Jimmie V. Reyna, Alvin Schall, Leonard Stark, Richard Gary Taranto, Evan Wallach


The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals based on subject matter and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.[14]

Appeals are heard at the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building in Washington, D.C.

The Federal Circuit is the only one of the thirteen federal appeals courts whose jurisdiction is determined entirely on the subject of the lawsuit it hears, rather than on the geographical location from which the appeal originated. It has national jurisdiction over subjects including international trade, government contracts, patents, trademarks, federal personnel, veterans' benefits, and public safety officers' benefits claims.[15] Appeals of rulings by the Federal Circuit are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Federal Circuit hears appeals from:

Specifically, it is the job of the Federal Circuit to hear all appeals from United States district courts related to:

  • Non-tort monetary complaints against the federal government where the contested dollar amount is under $10,000 (the "Little Tucker Act").
  • All appeals from decisions of any of the United States district courts where the original action included a complaint arising under the patent laws, except, as the Supreme Court decided, if the patent claims arose solely as counterclaims by the defendant.[16] The other federal appellate courts can now hear patent counter-claims in theory; however, this happens infrequently.

Examples of cases heard by the Federal Circuit that were also heard during the 2018 Supreme Court term were Kisor v. Wilkie and Return Mail v. U.S. Postal Service.

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

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congress.gov, "PN389 — Tiffany P. Cunningham — The Judiciary," accessed June 18, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The White House, "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate 11 Judicial Candidates," March 30, 2021
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 United States Senate, "Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session, Vote Summary: Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation: Tiffany P. Cunningham, of Illinois, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit)," accessed July 20, 2021
  4. ↑ United States Supreme Court, "Letter to President," January 27, 2022
  5. ↑ YouTube, "President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer," January 27, 2022
  6. ↑ NBC News, "Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from Supreme Court, paving way for Biden appointment," January 26, 2022
  7. ↑ White House, "President Biden Nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Serve as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court," February 25, 2022
  8. ↑ YouTube, "President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer," January 27, 2022
  9. ↑ CBS News, "Biden weighing more than a dozen candidates for Supreme Court vacancy," January 31, 2022
  10. ↑ USA Today, "Biden considers Judge J. Michelle Childs and may cast wider net for Supreme Court vacancy," January 29, 2022
  11. ↑ Vox, "Who is on Biden’s shortlist to replace retiring Justice Breyer?" January 26, 2022
  12. ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, "Circuit Judge Wallach to Assume Senior Status on May 31, 2021," March 16, 2021
  13. ↑ American Bar Association, "RATINGS OF ARTICLE III AND ARTICLE IV JUDICIAL NOMINEES 117TH CONGRESS," accessed June 18, 2021
  14. ↑ UScourts.gov, "Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit," accessed May 12, 2021
  15. ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, "Court Jurisdiction," accessed August 9, 2019
  16. ↑ Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., 535 U.S. 826, 2002 (A bill to eliminate this situation, H.R. 2955, was proposed on June 16, 2005, in the 109th Congress, but never passed.)

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
2021-Present		 Succeeded by
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Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. judicial newsJudicial selection in Washington, D.C.United States District Court for the District of ColumbiaUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia CircuitDistrict of Columbia Court of AppealsSuperior Court of the District of ColumbiaDCTemplate.jpg
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