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Sparkle L. Sooknanan

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Sparkle L. Sooknanan
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Designate
Assuming office
TBD
Appointed byJoe Biden
SucceedingFlorence Y. Pan
Personal details
Born
Sparkle Leah Sooknanan

1983 (age 40–41)
Trinidad and Tobago[1]
EducationSt. Francis College (BS)
Hofstra University (MBA)
Brooklyn Law School (JD)

Sparkle Leah Sooknanan[2] (born 1983)[3] is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian-born American lawyer who is the designate to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Education

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Sooknanan Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from St. Francis College in 2002, a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Hofstra University in 2003 and a Juris Doctor summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2010.[4]

Career

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From 2010 to 2011, Sooknanan served as a law clerk for Judge Eric N. Vitaliano of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, from 2011 to 2012, she was a law clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and from 2013 to 2014, she was a law clerk for Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court. From 2012 to 2013, she worked at the United States Department of Justice as an appellate attorney in the Civil Division.

From 2014 to 2021, Sooknanan worked in private practice at Jones Day, becoming a partner at the firm in 2020. Sooknanan resigned from Jones Day in January 2021. Before her resignation, The New York Times reported that she denounced the firm's work in Pennsylvania on behalf of the Trump administration, saying that one lawsuit "was brought for no other reason than to deprive poor people of the right to vote."[5] In her 2024 confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate, Sooknanan denied saying this, stating "Those were not my words. I do not know who provided that quote to the reporter."[6]

Sooknanan was a deputy associate attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice from 2021 to 2023. Since 2023, she has served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.[4]

Nomination to district court

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On February 21, 2024, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Sooknanan to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.[4] Sooknanan was recommended to the seat by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.[7] On February 27, 2024, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Sooknanan to the seat vacated by Judge Florence Y. Pan, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on September 28, 2022.[8] On March 20, 2024, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[9] During her confirmation hearing, she was questioned by Senator Josh Hawley over her work for Jones Day representing hedge fund investors working in Puerto Rico.[10] Sooknanan served as lead counsel on behalf of Puerto Rican bondholders or vulture funds who were seeking to maximize recovery of money during the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis.[11] Sooknanan told Hawley that she had not been lead counsel, although legal records and Jones Day confirmed that she had been lead counsel.[6] On April 18, 2024, her nomination was favorably reported out of committee by a 11–10 party-line vote.[12][13] On November 20, 2024, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 51–49 vote.[14] On December 3, 2024, her nomination was confirmed by a 50–48 vote.[15] She is awaiting her judicial commission.

References

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  1. ^ Williams, Laurel V. (March 8, 2024). "US president nominates Trinidad woman to serve as district judge". newsday.co.tt.
  2. ^ "Sparkle Leah Sooknanan". Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "President Biden Names Forty-Sixth Round of Judicial Nominees and Announces Two New Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorney" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Enrich, David (August 25, 2022). "How a Corporate Law Firm Led a Political Revolution". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Dayen, David (April 5, 2024). "Biden Nominee Asked About Discrepancies in Testimony". The American Prospect. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  7. ^ "BIDEN NOMINATES NORTON RECOMMENDATION, SPARKLE L. SOOKNANAN, FOR THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR D.C." (Press release). February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  8. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. February 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. March 19, 2024.
  10. ^ Weiss, Benjamin S. "Senate Republicans buck blue slips on US attorney nominees". Courthouse News. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Dayen, David (February 28, 2024). "Biden Judge Nominee Worked for Vulture Funds Holding Puerto Rican Debt". The American Prospect. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 18, 2024" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  13. ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Ten Nominations to the Full Senate" (Press release). United States Senate Judiciary Committee. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  14. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Sparkle L. Sooknanan to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia)". United States Senate. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  15. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Sparkle L. Sooknanan, of the District of Columbia, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia)". United States Senate. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Taking office 2024 		Designate
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