Senate confirms President Biden's nomination of Sarala Nagala, Omar Williams for U.S. judgeships
Source: Hartford Courant
HARTFORD COURANT | OCT 28, 2021 AT 1:14 PM
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarala Nagala and Superior Court Judge Omar Williams for U.S. District Court judgeships, the final two of President Joe Biden’s nominees for three open seats on the state’s federal bench.
The Senate confirmed former federal public defender Sarah Merriam earlier this month for the third seat.
All three of the state judges moved rapidly through the Senate approval process and were confirmed for the lifetime appointments by almost identical, partisan votes after nomination by Biden, who promised during his first days in office to diversify the administration of federal justice by nominating judges “who reflect the best of America, and who look like America.” Nagala and Williams were confirmed 52-46, and Merriam 54-46.
Nagala, a career prosecutor, becomes the first federal judge appointed in Connecticut of Asian or south Asian background. Williams, who is Black, was a state public defender for 11 years before being appointed to a state judgeship by former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. He is the fourth Black appointee among the state’s 12 active and semiretired federal judges. Merriam, who is white, was a federal public defender before being appointed a federal Magistrate Judge in 2015.
Read more: https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-nagala-williams-senate-us-judges-20211028-20211028-nssp4odme5ho5aqlk2ezriaf7i-story.html
Nagala's confirmation is historic, being the first of Asian or South Asian descent.
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