Melissa R. DuBose
Melissa R. DuBose | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2025 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | William E. Smith |
| Associate Judge of the Rhode Island District Court | |
| In office 2019 – January 2, 2025 | |
| Appointed by | Gina Raimondo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Melissa Raye DuBose 1968 (age 56–57) Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Providence College (BA), Roger Williams University School of Law (JD) |
Melissa Raye DuBose (born 1968)[1][2] is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island since 2025. She previously served as an associate judge of the Rhode Island District Court from 2019 to 2025.
Education
[edit]DeBose graduated from Providence College with a degree in political science in 1990 and became a public school social studies teacher in Providence. She graduated from the Roger Williams University School of Law in 2004.[3][4]
Career
[edit]She was a special assistant attorney of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office from 2005 to 2008. From 2008 to 2019, DuBose was recruited to be the U.S. legal counsel for Schneider Electric, where she worked in corporate compliance, ethics, and fair trade. In 2019, she was appointed by Governor Gina Raimondo to the Rhode Island District Court.[5]
Federal judicial service
[edit]On January 10, 2024, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate DuBose to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. On February 1, 2024, President Biden nominated DuBose to a seat being vacated by Judge William E. Smith, who subsequently assumed senior status on January 1, 2025.[6] On February 8, 2024, a hearing on her nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[7] During her confirmation hearing, she was questioned by Senator John Kennedy over an article from 2000 in which DuBose was quoted about Marxism.[8] On March 7, 2024, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–9 vote.[9] On March 12, 2024, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 51–48 vote, with Senator Joe Manchin voting against the motion.[10] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 51–47 vote, with Senator Manchin voting against her confirmation.[11] She received her judicial commission on January 2, 2025,[12] and was sworn in on January 3, 2025.[13] DuBose became the first person of color and first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.[14]
See also
[edit]- List of African American federal judges
- List of African American jurists
- List of LGBT jurists in the United States
References
[edit]- ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ "President Biden nominates Melissa DuBose for US District Court in Providence". The Boston Globe. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ "President Biden Names Forty-Fourth Round of Judicial Nominees". whitehouse.gov. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ "Senators recommend RI Judge Melissa DuBose for federal bench". Providence Journal. January 9, 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "Raised off Hope: The story of Judge Melissa Dubose '90".
- ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. February 3, 2024.
- ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. February 7, 2024.
- ^ Mulvaney, Katie. "RI nominee to federal court faces confirmation hearing. Why court watchers are optimistic". The Providence Journal. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 7, 2024" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Melissa R. DuBose to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Rhode Island)". United States Senate. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Melissa R. DuBose, of Rhode Island, to be United States District Judge for the District of Rhode Island)". United States Senate. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "Melissa R. DuBose District Judge". rid.uscourts.gov. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ "Melissa R. DuBose sworn in today as U.S. District Judge for the District of Rhode Island" (PDF). rid.uscourts.gov (Press release). Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ Mulvaney, Kate (January 10, 2024). "Biden nominates first person of color to U.S. District Court for RI. What that means". Providence Journal. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Melissa R. DuBose at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1968 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- 21st-century American women lawyers
- American LGBTQ lawyers
- Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
- LGBTQ appointed officials in the United States
- LGBTQ judges
- LGBTQ people from Rhode Island
- People from Providence, Rhode Island
- Providence College alumni
- Rhode Island lawyers
- Rhode Island state court judges
- Roger Williams University School of Law alumni
- Schoolteachers from Rhode Island
- United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden