Tiffany P. Cunningham
Tiffany Patrice Cunningham (born May 27, 1976)[1][2] is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Tiffany P. Cunningham | |
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Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit | |
Assumed office August 6, 2021 | |
Appointed by | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Evan Wallach |
Personal details | |
Born | Tiffany Patrice Cunningham May 27, 1976 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS) Harvard University (JD) |
Education
Cunningham received her Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998 and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2001.[3][4]
Career
Cunningham began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge Timothy B. Dyk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from 2001 to 2002. In 2002, she joined the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis as an associate, and was elevated to partner in 2007, where she remained until 2014. From 2014 to 2021, she was a partner at Perkins Coie in Chicago, where she was a member of the patent litigation practice and served on the 17-member executive committee of the firm. She is also a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.[3]
Federal judicial service
On March 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Cunningham to serve as a United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Biden nominated Cunningham to the seat vacated by Judge Evan Wallach, who took senior status on May 31, 2021.[5] On April 19, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On May 26, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[6] The committee advanced Cunningham's nomination by a vote of 16–6.[7] On July 19, 2021, the United States Senate confirmed her nomination by a vote of 63–33 after the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination on July 15, 2021, by a vote of 63-34.[8] She received her judicial commission on August 6, 2021. Cunningham is the first African American judge to ever sit on the Federal Circuit.[9] On January 28, 2022, following Justice Stephen Breyer's announcement of his intention to retire as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Cunningham was mentioned as one of the potential nominees for a Supreme Court appointment by President Joe Biden.[10]
References
- Sweet, Lynn (May 26, 2021). "Chicago attorney Tiffany Cunningham sprints through Senate Judiciary Committee hearing". Chicago Sun-Times.
- "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Tiffany Patrice Cunningham" (PDF).
- "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate 11 Judicial Candidates". The White House. March 30, 2021.
- "Perkins Coie Congratulates Partner Tiffany Cunningham on Her Confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit". Perkins Coie. July 19, 2021.
- "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. April 19, 2021.
- "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov.
- "Senate Panel Advances Cunningham's Nomination to Federal Circuit". news.bloomberglaw.com. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Tiffany P. Cunningham, of Illinois, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit)". United States Senate. July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- "Black Judge Chosen for Only Appeals Court Never to Have One (3)". news.bloomberglaw.com. March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- Reporter, Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court. "White House considering wider list of Supreme Court nominees". CNN. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
External links
- Tiffany P. Cunningham at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.