Angel Kelley

District of Massachusetts
	First Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 13
	Judges: 13
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Dennis Saylor
	Active judges: Allison Dale Burroughs, Denise Casper, Nathaniel Gorton, Margaret R. Guzman, Myong Joun, Angel Kelley, Julia Kobick, Mark G. Mastroianni, Brian Murphy, Dennis Saylor, Leo Sorokin, Richard Stearns, Indira Talwani; Senior judges:; Timothy Hillman, George O'Toole, Michael Ponsor, Patti Saris, Mark Wolf, Douglas Woodlock, William G. Young, Rya Zobel

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Angel Kelley
	Court: United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Progress
	Confirmed 125 days after nomination.
	Nominated: May 12, 2021
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: June 23, 2021
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: July 22, 2021
	Confirmed: September 14, 2021
	Vote: 52-44

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Angel Kelley is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on May 12, 2021, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 2021, by a vote of 52-44.^[1]^[2]^[3] Kelley was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Kelley was an associate justice for the Massachusetts Superior Court. She was nominated to the court by former Governor Deval Patrick (D) in January 2013 and was confirmed by the Governor's Council in a 6-2 vote.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (2021-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Kelley to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was confirmed by a 52-44 vote of the U.S. Senate on September 14, 2021. Kelley received commission on September 15, 2021.^[2]^[3]^[7] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kelley by a vote of 52-44 on September 14, 2021.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Kelley confirmation vote (September 14, 2021)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	3	44	3
Independent	2	0	0
Total	52	44	4

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Kelley's nomination on June 23, 2021. The committee voted to advance Kelley's nomination to the full Senate on July 22, 2021.

Nomination

On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Kelley to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The president officially nominated Kelley on the same day.^[2]^[3]

Kelley was nominated to replace Judge Douglas Woodlock, who assumed senior status on June 1, 2015.^[3]

The American Bar Association rated Kelley Well Qualified.^[8] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Education

Brown earned her B.A. from Colgate University in 1989, her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1992, and her LL.M. in trial advocacy from Temple University in 2003.^[4]

Career

2021-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
2013-2021: Associate justice, Massachusetts Superior Court
2009-2013: Associate justice, Brockton District Court
1993-2009: Attorney in private practice^[4]

About the court

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit based in downtown Boston at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse. There are two other courthouses in Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts.^[9]

The Counties of Massachusetts (click for larger map)

The District of Massachusetts has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The jurisdiction of the District of Massachusetts consists of all the counties in the state of Massachusetts. The court's headquarters are in Boston, with courthouses in Springfield and Worcester.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts 2021-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Massachusetts Superior Court 2013-2021	Succeeded by -