AFJ: Jennifer Sung and Beth Robinson Deserve Swift Confirmation

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 14, 2021 – This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to consider Jennifer Sung for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Beth Robinson for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 

Jennifer Sung currently serves as a member of the Oregon Employment Relations Board, and she is the first lawyer from the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community to be nominated to a federal judgeship in Oregon. During her time on the Board, Ms. Sung has decided over 200 cases and has been reversed only three times. Prior to assuming her current position, Ms. Sung had a distinguished legal career as a labor attorney, advocating in the courtroom for workplace protections and living wages for workers. Learn more about Member Sung’s record here. 

Beth Robinson currently serves as a justice on the Vermont Supreme Court, where she has served for the past decade. Prior to assuming her current position, Justice Robinson made history as an advocate for the rights of same-sex couples, including personally leading the legal fight that led Vermont to become the first state to recognize civil unions for LGBTQ+ couples. If confirmed, Robinson would be the first openly lesbian Court of Appeals judge in United States history. Learn more about Justice Robinson’s record here. 

These nominees now proceed to a confirmation vote by the full Senate Judiciary Committee followed by a vote of the full Senate. 

Alliance for Justice President Rakim Brooks issued the following statement: 

“In addition to being historic nominations, Jennifer Sung and Justice Beth Robinson are both brilliant legal minds and eminently qualified jurists as they demonstrated during today’s hearing. Both nominees will bring critically important professional and demographic diversity to the federal bench, which is vital for ensuring that our justice system fulfills its promise of providing equal justice for all. Our justice system is stronger when it looks like and understands the people that it serves.  

“We commend Chairman Durbin for his commitment to expeditiously filling these critically important lower court vacancies, as well as Senators Wyden and Merkley for their recommendations of Member Sung and Senators Leahy and Sanders for their recommendations of Justice Robinson. We urge a quick confirmation for both nominees.”