In a significant move to diversify the federal judiciary, President Joe Biden has put forward nominations for three federal district court positions: longtime prosecutors Elizabeth Coombe and Sarah Davenport, and corporate lawyer Sharad Desai.
Coombe, based in Albany, New York, has a long track record as a federal prosecutor and has served as the first assistant in her office for the past six years. Meanwhile, Davenport has been a federal prosecutor in Las Cruces, New Mexico, since 2009, where she has garnered acclaim for her work on complex criminal cases.
Desai, currently a senior legal figure at Honeywell in Phoenix, is also noteworthy for his family connection; his sister, Roopali Desai, is a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, having been confirmed in 2022 as the court’s first South Asian American judge. This nomination would mark Sharad Desai as Arizona’s first South Asian American federal district judge, a significant milestone for the state.
The nominations reflect Biden’s continued commitment to enhancing the diversity within the U.S. judiciary. To date, the Democratic-led Senate has confirmed 205 of Biden’s judicial appointments.
Arizona’s Senators, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, have endorsed Desai, highlighting his reputation within the state’s legal community. Coombe’s and Davenport’s nominations have also received praise from various political figures for their distinguished careers and contributions to public service.
The move signals a broader effort by the Biden administration to reshape the federal judiciary with a focus on varied experiences and backgrounds.
