Candace Jackson-Akiwumi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
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| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit | |
| Assumed office July 1, 2021 |
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| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Joel Flaum |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Candace Rae Jackson
1979 (age 45–46) Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Relatives | Raymond Alvin Jackson (father) |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Candace Rae Jackson-Akiwumi (born 1979) is an important American judge. She works as a federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She started this job in July 2021. Before becoming a judge, she helped people who couldn't afford a lawyer as a federal public defender. She also worked as a lawyer at a firm in Washington, D.C..
Contents
About Judge Jackson-Akiwumi
Her Early Life and School
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Her father, Raymond Alvin Jackson, is also a United States District Judge. Her mother, Gwendolyn Jackson, was a judge too.
She went to Princeton University and earned a degree in 2000. Later, she studied law at Yale Law School and received her law degree in 2005. While at Yale, she was a senior editor for the Yale Law Journal.
Her Career as a Lawyer
After law school, Candace Jackson-Akiwumi worked for different judges. She was a law clerk for Judge David H. Coar from 2005 to 2006. Then, she worked for Judge Roger Gregory from 2006 to 2007.
From 2007 to 2010, she was a lawyer at a big firm called Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Chicago. She then spent ten years, from 2010 to 2020, as a staff attorney. In this role, she worked for the federal public defender program in Illinois. This means she helped people who were accused of crimes but could not afford a lawyer.
In 2018, she also taught a class about criminal law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. From 2020 to 2021, she was a partner at a law firm in Washington, D.C.. There, she worked on complicated civil litigation cases and investigations.
Becoming a Federal Judge
On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he wanted to nominate Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to be a federal judge. He chose her for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. This court hears appeals from lower courts.
Her nomination was sent to the United States Senate on April 19, 2021. The Senate needed to approve her for the job. A hearing was held on April 28, 2021, where she answered questions. On May 20, 2021, a committee voted to recommend her.
The full Senate then voted on her nomination. On June 24, 2021, she was confirmed by a vote of 53 to 40. She officially became a judge on July 1, 2021. She is the second African-American woman to serve on the Seventh Circuit. She is also the first former federal public defender to hold this position.
Possible Supreme Court Role
In January 2022, a judge on the Supreme Court of the United States announced his retirement. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Candace Jackson-Akiwumi was considered as a possible new judge for this very important court.
President Joe Biden had promised to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. While Judge Jackson-Akiwumi was on the list, President Biden ultimately nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson. She was confirmed to the Supreme Court later that year.
See also
- Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates
- List of African American federal judges
- List of African American jurists
