Know a Nominee: Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

UPDATE 6/24/21

• The Senate voted 53-40 to confirm Jackson-Akiwumi to be a judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She will join the other judges on the bench once she receives her judicial commission in the coming days.
• The vote was mostly along party-lines except for Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) who joined Democrats by voting in favor.

UPDATE 6/23/21

• The Senate voted 53-47 to limit debate on Jackson-Akiwumi’s nomination, setting up a confirmation vote on Thursday.
• The vote was mostly along party-lines except for Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) who joined Democrats by voting in favor.

The Senate is expected to consider the nomination of Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to be a federal judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Here’s what you need to know about the nominee:

Who is Candace Jackson-Akiwumi?

• Jackson-Akiwumi, age 41-42, is an attorney in Washington, D.C., at Zuckerman Spaeder where she focuses on complex civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, and investigations.
• She earned her undergraduate degree with honors from Princeton University and her law degree from Yale Law School. After law school, Jackson-Akiwumi was a law clerk for Judge David Coar in the Northern District of Illinois from 2005-2006 and then for Judge Roger Gregory of the Fourth Circuit from 2006-2007.
• She worked in private practice from 2007 to 2010 as a litigation associate, then worked as a staff attorney in the federal defender program in the Northern District of Illinois from 2010 to 2020, during which time represented over 400 indigent clients. She joined Zuckerman Spaeder in 2020.
• Jackson-Akiwumi is the daughter of Judge Raymond Jackson of the U.S. District of Eastern Virginia and Judge Gwendolyn Jackson, who presided over the state of Virginia’s Fourth Judicial District. If confirmed, she would be the second black woman to serve on the 7th Circuit and would be the only person of color currently on the bench in that circuit.

What’s the outlook for her confirmation?

• The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to advance Jackson-Akiwumi’s nomination that went mostly along party-lines with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed, except for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who voted in favor.
• Some GOP senators expressed opposition to Jackson-Akiwumi’s nomination in her confirmation hearing because they didn’t feel she expressed a commitment to the judicial philosophy of constitutional originalism.
• Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said he was “dumbstruck” that Jackson-Akiwumi would be the only non-white judge on the Seventh Circuit. Jackson-Akiwumi said in her confirmation hearing, “I don’t believe race will play a role in the type of judge that I would be if confirmed.”
• The American Bar Association’s judicial nomination rating panel gave Jackson-Akiwumi a rating of “well qualified” according to a substantial majority of the panel, while a minority of the panel gave her a rating of “qualified.”

What does it mean for the Seventh Circuit?

• Jackson-Akiwumi’s confirmation would fill a position that became vacant on November 30, 2020, when Judge Joel Flaum (a Ronald Reagan appointee) took senior status. Flaum’s duty station was in Chicago, Illinois.
• The Seventh Circuit has 11 active judgeships. Of the judges currently on the bench, two were appointed by Ronald Reagan, one by George H.W. Bush, one by Bill Clinton, one by George W. Bush, one by Barack Obama, and four by Donald Trump.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock / imaginima)