(l-r) Nominees Jacquelyn Austin, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina, Jacqueline Becerra, Melissa Damian, and David Leibowitz, to be U.S. District Judges for the Southern District of Florida, Julie Simone Sneed, to be U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, and Kirk Edward Sherriff, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California, testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday for six judicial nominees, four of whom could become the next U.S. district judge in the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.
Carl Tobias, an expert on judicial appointments at the University of Richmond School of Law in Virginia, said that pending a government shutdown over the federal budget, it appears that the nominees, U.S. Magistrate Judges Jacqueline Becerra, Melissa Damian, Julie Simone Sneed, and attorney David Seymour Leibowitz, will be confirmed by February.
Melissa Damian testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
