Justice Gabriel Sanchez Deserves Swift Confirmation

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 3, 2021 – Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for the nomination of Justice Gabriel P. Sanchez for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as well as five of President Biden’s exceptionally qualified district court nominees. Justice Sanchez was the first Latino ever appointed to the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, where he currently sits. He has ruled in over 500 cases. During his hearing, Justice Sanchez demonstrated his exceptional legal credentials and commitment to public service.  

Prior to his time on the court, Justice Sanchez had a wide array of legal experience, including spending time as a clerk on Ninth Circuit. As a lawyer, Justice Sanchez maintained an active pro bono practice representing disadvantaged and indigent clients, earning the ACLU’s Social Justice Award in 2010. As Governor Edmund G. Brown’s Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary, he played a leading role in implementing a Supreme Court-approved order for prison population reduction to protect the rights of incarcerated persons and ensure public safety. The program alleviated severe overcrowding in California state prisons, which violated state regulations and incarcerated people’s constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment. 

The hearing also featured several district court nominees: David Urias (District of New Mexico), Katherine Menendez (District of Minnesota), Linda Lopez (Southern District of California), Jinsook Ohta (Southern District of California), and Samantha Elliot (District of New Hampshire). These nominees are also exceptionally qualified and worthy of confirmation to their respective courts. 

Alliance for Justice President Rakim H.D. Brooks issued the following statement: 

“The Ninth Circuit is the largest of our appeals courts, serving over 66 million Americans, and it deserves judges like Justice Sanchez. For many years, Justice Sanchez represented indigent individuals, tenants, undocumented students, and farmworkers, and he has significant contributions to criminal justice reform. We are proud to support his confirmation, and it is our sincerest wish that he receives the broad bipartisan support that a jurist of his experience deserves.

“We continue to see President Biden and Senate Democrats advance judicial nominees with important professional and lived experience, which is needed to ensure a fair and impartial judiciary capable of safeguarding the principle of equal justice for all. Justice Sanchez and all the incredible district court nominees heard today should be confirmed without delay.”