Nancy Abudu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nancy Abudu
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| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
| Assumed office May 26, 2023 |
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| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Beverly B. Martin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Nancy Gbana Abudu
1974 (age 50–51) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) Tulane University (JD) |
Nancy Gbana Abudu, born in 1974, is an American lawyer from Georgia. She is a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. This is a very important court that helps decide legal cases.
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Early Life and Education
Nancy Abudu was born and grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. Her parents came to the U.S. from Ghana. Her parents' beliefs, especially her father's work against unfair laws in South Africa, influenced her.
She graduated from Mercersburg Academy in 1992. She then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1996. Later, she received her law degree (Juris Doctor) from Tulane University Law School in 1999.
Career as a Lawyer
After finishing law school, Nancy Abudu worked at a law firm called Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom from 1999 to 2001.
From 2002 to 2004, she worked as a staff attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In this role, she focused on laws that affect many people and international rules.
Working for Civil Rights
From 2005 to 2013, she was a staff attorney for the ACLU Voting Rights Project. This group works to protect people's right to vote. From 2013 to 2019, she was the legal director for the ACLU of Florida. During her time with the ACLU, she became an expert in voting rights law.
From 2019 to 2023, she worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center. There, she was a deputy legal director and helped lead important legal cases.
Important Cases
Nancy Abudu worked on several important legal cases:
- In 2009, she helped people challenge a law in Arizona. This law made it hard for people who had committed serious crimes to vote again. They argued the law was unfair.
- In 2016, she worked with the The League of Women Voters of Florida. They sued because they believed the way voting districts were drawn in Florida was unfair. They said it favored one political party over another.
- In 2017, she represented a health clinic in Florida. They challenged a state law that required a 24-hour waiting period for certain medical procedures.
Becoming a Federal Judge
On December 23, 2021, President Joe Biden announced he wanted Nancy Abudu to become a judge. He nominated her to be a United States circuit judge for the Eleventh Circuit. She was nominated to fill the seat left by Judge Beverly B. Martin, who retired.
Her nomination was sent to the Senate on January 10, 2022. A hearing about her nomination was held on April 27, 2022. Some senators had questions about her past work, especially with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
On February 9, 2023, a Senate committee voted to approve her nomination. On May 18, 2023, the full Senate voted to confirm her as a judge. She officially became a judge on May 26, 2023.
Nancy Abudu is the first African American woman to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
See Also
