Stephanie Dawkins Davis

Sixth Circuit
	Court of Appeals
Judgeships
	Posts: 16
	Judges: 16
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Jeffrey Sutton
	Active judges: Rachel Bloomekatz, John K. Bush, Eric Clay, Stephanie Dawkins Davis, Richard Griffin, Raymond Kethledge, Joan Larsen, Andre Mathis, Karen Moore, Eric Murphy, John Nalbandian, Chad Readler, Kevin Ritz, Jane Stranch, Jeffrey Sutton, Amul Thapar; Senior judges:; Alice Batchelder, Danny Boggs, R. Guy Cole Jr., Deborah Cook, Martha Daughtrey, Julia Gibbons, Ronald Gilman, Ralph Guy, David McKeague, Alan Norris, John M. Rogers, James Ryan, Eugene Siler, Richard Suhrheinrich, Helene White

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Stephanie Dawkins Davis
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 111 days after nomination.
	Nominated: February 2, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: March 2, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: April 4, 2022
	Confirmed: May 24, 2022
	Vote: 49-43

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Stephanie Dawkins Davis is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on February 2, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2022, by a vote of 49-43.^[1]^[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the Sixth Circuit, click here.

Davis was a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on March 11, 2019, and confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote on December 19, 2019.^[3]^[4] She received commission on December 31, 2019, and left office on May 24, 2022, after her elevation to the 6th Circuit.^[5] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

Davis was a federal magistrate judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2016 to 2019.^[6]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On February 2, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Stephanie Dawkins Davis to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.^[2] Davis received commission on June 14, 2022.^[5] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Davis by a vote of 49-43 on May 24, 2022.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Davis confirmation vote (May 24, 2022)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	45	0	3
Republican	2	43	5
Independent	2	0	0
Total	49	43	8

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Davis' nomination on March 2, 2022. The committee voted to advance Davis' nomination to the full Senate on April 4, 2022.^[2]

Nomination

On February 2, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Davis to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.^[1] He officially submitted the nomination to the U.S. Senate on the same day.^[2]

Davis was nominated to replace Judge Helene White, assumed senior status.^[2]

The American Bar Association rated Davis Well qualified.^[7] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (2019-2022)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Davis to be a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on March 8, 2019.^[8] The U.S. Senate received Davis' nomination on March 11, 2019. The U.S. Senate confirmed Davis by voice vote on December 19, 2019.^[3] She left the court on May 24, 2022, after her confirmation to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Davis on December 19, 2019, by voice vote.^[4]

Change in Senate rules

See also:

Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress

Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

United States federal courts

Davis was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.^[9]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.^[10]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.^[11] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Davis' nomination on May 22, 2019.^[12] The committee voted to advance Davis' nomination to the full Senate on June 20, 2019.^[13]

Nomination

Davis was nominated to succeed Gerald Rosen, who retired on January 31, 2017. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both Democrats of Michigan, negotiated with the White House regarding the nomination. Stabenow said of the nomination, "Today’s announcement is welcome news following months of bipartisan discussions with the White House. I look forward to the Senate Judiciary Committee considering these nominees."^[14]

Davis was the first African-American woman Trump nominated for a federal judgeship since he took office in January 2017.^[14]

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Davis well qualified for the position.^[15] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, magistrate (2016-2019)

Davis was appointed as a federal magistrate judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She began serving on the court on January 4, 2016.^[6] She left office after becoming a Article III judge on the court.

Biography

Education

Davis earned associate and bachelor's degrees from Wichita State University in 1988 and 1989 respectively. She earned her J.D. from the Washington University of St. Louis School of Law in 1992.^[6]

Professional career

2022-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
2016-2022: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- 2019-2022: Article III judge
- 2016-2019: Federal magistrate judge
1997-2016: U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Michigan
- 2010-2016: Executive assistant U.S. attorney
- 1997-2010: Assistant U.S. attorney
1992-1997: Associate, Dickinson, Wright PLLC^[16]

Awards and associations

Awards

2015: Champion of Justice, State Bar of Michigan^[6]

Associations

Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust
Detroit Youth Violence Prevention Initiative^[14]

About the courts

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Sixth Circuit has 16 authorized judicial posts. The chief judge of the court is Jeffrey Sutton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). Six of the judges on the court were appointed by Donald Trump (R).

Appeals are heard in the Potter Stewart United States Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Four judges of the Sixth Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Howell Edmunds Jackson was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1893 by Benjamin Harrison (R), William R. Day was appointed in 1903 by Theodore Roosevelt (R), Horace Harmon Lurton was appointed in 1909 by William Howard Taft (R), and Potter Stewart was appointed in 1958 by Dwight Eisenhower (R).

Map of the Sixth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The Sixth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Brett Kavanaugh is the circuit justice for the Sixth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the United States district courts in the following federal judicial districts:

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Eastern District of Michigan
Sixth Circuit

Judgeships
Posts: 15
Judges: 15
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Sean Cox
Active judges: Terrence Berg, Sean Cox, Susan DeClercq, Mark Goldsmith, Jonathan Grey, Frances Kay Behm, Shalina Kumar, Matthew Frederick Leitman, Judith Ellen Levy, Thomas Ludington, Brandy McMillion, Laurie Michelson, Stephen Murphy, Linda V. Parker, Robert White Senior judges: Paul Borman, Robert Cleland, Gershwin Drain, Nancy Edmunds, Bernard Friedman, Denise Hood, David Lawson, George Steeh

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan is one of 94 United States district courts. It was established by an act of Congress on December 24, 1863. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit based in downtown Cincinnati at the Potter A. Stewart Federal Courthouse and Building.

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

The geographic jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Michigan consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state of Michigan.

The court's headquarters are in Detroit, with courthouses also located in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Flint, and Port Huron.

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

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Helene White	United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit 2022-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Gerald Rosen	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan 2019-2022	Succeeded by Susan DeClercq
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan 2016-2019	Succeeded by -