On Tuesday, the United States Senate confirmed Lindsay Jenkins to the federal bench in Chicago. A former federal prosecutor, Jenkins helped convict the city’s public schools chief for bribery and probed its police department for civil rights violations. The confirmation vote was 59-40, with Illinois’ Democratic U.S. senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee recommending Jenkins for the seat.
This is part of a more significant effort from the Biden administration and Senate Democrats to reshape and diversify the federal judiciary by choosing candidates with varied legal experiences. Shortly before confirming Jenkins, a Black woman, the Senate approved Biden’s 100th federal court appointment – Gina Méndez-Miró, who will be the first openly LGBTQ+ American judge to serve on the federal district court in Puerto Rico.
Jenkins is taking the seat held by John Lee, who last year became the first Asian American judge to serve on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. With Jenkins’ confirmation, the Senate has now exceeded the pace of confirmations in both the Trump and Obama administrations.
In 2006, she joined the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office. She was part of a team that charged Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett with taking kickbacks and bribes for steering lucrative contracts to one of her previous employers. Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in October 2015 and was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison in April 2017.
Jenkins also assisted the Justice Department in its civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department following the November 2015 release of dashcam video showing white Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Jenkins’ work was instrumental in Van Dyke’s conviction of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery, as well as a 2017 Justice Department report that found that Chicago police routinely violated people’s civil rights.
In December 2021, Jenkins joined Cooley, a Silicon Valley-founded law firm that had recently entered the Chicago market. On Tuesday, her work was recognized by the Senate with a confirmation vote of 59-40.
The confirmation of Lindsay Jenkins to the federal bench in Chicago is an encouraging sign for America’s judicial system. Her experience speaks for itself, and with her confirmation, the Senate has made a strong statement about its commitment to diversity in the courts. The Biden administration and Senate Democrats should be applauded for confirming Jenkins, a Black woman with a long track record of fighting for justice in Chicago. It is a hopeful sign that America’s judicial system is moving towards greater fairness and equality.
REFERENCES:
Senate confirms another Biden judicial pick, filling seat in Chicago