Stephanie D. Davis

Stephanie Dawkins Davis (born 1967) is an American attorney and judge serving as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.

Stephanie D. Davis
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Assumed office
December 31, 2019
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byGerald Ellis Rosen
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
In office
January 2016 – December 31, 2019
Personal details
Born
Stephanie Renaye Dawkins

1967 (age 54–55)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Children3
EducationWichita State University (BS)
Washington University in St. Louis (JD)

Davis is the second African-American woman federal judge confirmed by the Senate who was nominated by President Donald Trump.[1] In February 2022, she was nominated by President Joe Biden to become a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Early life and education

Davis is a native of Kansas City, Kansas and a graduate of F.L. Schlagle High School, where she was raised as an only child by a single mother.[2] Davis received a Bachelor of Science from Wichita State University in 1989 and her Juris Doctor from the Washington University School of Law in 1992.[3] She became interested in the law as a young student in Kansas because of Brown v. Board of Education (1954).[2]

Career

Davis began her career in products liability and commercial litigation at Dickinson Wright in Detroit, where she was mentored by future Michigan Supreme Court Justice Mary Beth Kelly.[2][3] She left private practice to join the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1997, where she served in both the civil and criminal divisions.[3] She spent 18 years working in the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecuting cases at both the trial and appellate levels, and serving as a deputy unit chief of the Controlled Substances Unit and high-intensity drug trafficking area liaison.[3][4] Davis was a member of the American Constitution Society from 2008 and 2016.[5] She also served as the executive assistant U.S. attorney under then-U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade from 2010 to 2015.[2] Davis serves on the advisory board for University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.[2]

Federal judicial service

United States magistrate judge

In January 2016, she became a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. During her tenure, she arraigned Amor Ftouhi for his role in the 2017 Bishop International Airport attack.[2]

District court service

On March 8, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Davis to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.[4] On March 11, 2019, President Trump nominated Davis to the seat vacated by Judge Gerald Ellis Rosen, who took senior status on October 26, 2016.[6] On May 22, 2019, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[7] On June 20, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[8] On December 18, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a vote of 90–1.[9] On December 19, 2019, her nomination was confirmed by voice vote. She received her judicial commission on December 31, 2019, and was sworn in later that same day.[10]

Nomination to court of appeals

On February 2, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Davis to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.[11] President Biden nominated Davis to the seat to be vacated by Judge Helene White, who will assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor.[12] Her nomination is pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On March 2, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[13] On April 4, 2022, her nomination was reported favorably out of committee in a 13-9 vote.

Personal life

Davis is married to an engineer and has three adult children.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Business & Practice". Biglawbusiness.com. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  2. Burke, Melissa Nann; Snell, Robert; Oosting, Jonathan (March 8, 2019). "Trump picks first black female judge nominee as he tries to fill Mich. vacancies". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  3. "Magistrate Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis", United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees", The White House, March 8, 2019
  5. "Judge Stephanie Davis – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan". 9 July 2019.
  6. "Ten Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, March 11, 2019
  7. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for May 22, 2019
  8. Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 20, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
  9. "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  10. "Magistrate Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis Sworn In as U.S. District Judge for Eastern Michigan" (PDF). United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  11. "President Biden Makes Fourteenth Judicial Nominations Announcement". The White House. 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  12. "Press Release: Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. February 2, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. February 28, 2022.
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