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Women

Michigan Just Got Its First Lesbian Federal Judge

With her unanimous Senate confirmation yesterday, Judith Levy just became the first openly lesbian federal judge in Michigan.

Sunnivie Brydum

<p>Sunnivie is an award-winning journalist and the managing editor at <em>The Advocate</em>. A proud spouse and puppy-parent, Sunnivie strives to queer up the world of reporting while covering the politics of equality daily.</p>

Read Full Bio

Sunnivie Brydum

sunnivie

March 13 2014 4:40 PM EST

November 08 2024 6:13 AM EST

A unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate Wednesday confirmed Judith Levy to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, making her the first out LGBT person to sit on the state's federal bench, according to the Washington Blade.

Levy was nominated for the position last July by President Obama, and was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. Prior to being named a federal judge, the Blade notes that Levy was an assistant U.S. attorney for the district she's now presiding over, and chief of that office's civil rights unit for the past three years.

Levy has reportedly been a member of the Human Rights Campaign for the past 13 years, and is a board member for the LGBT employees group within the Department of Justice, DOJ Pride. She received a rating of "unanimously qualified" from the American Bar Association, reports the Blade.

The Blade also notes that Levy's confirmation, affirmed in a 97-0 vote along with other judicial nominees, wasn't the only positive news regarding LGBT representation on federal benches. Staci Michelle Yandle, a black lesbian nominated to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois, breezed through her confirmation hearing yesterday with the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, with zero opposition from any of the senators on the committee.