PROVIDENCE — It has been a long time coming.
That’s what advocates said Tuesday after the US Senate voted 51 to 47 to confirm Judge Melissa R. DuBose, making her the first person of color and first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on the US District Court for Rhode Island.
Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, hailed the Senate vote, noting that her uncle, the late Alton W. Wiley, became Rhode Island’s first Black state judge in 1980.
“It has been a long time coming to see the federal bench catch up,” Wiley said. “Today we celebrate an important milestone toward building an equal justice judiciary for our communities.”
Tuesday’s vote marks the 100th time the Senate has confirmed a Black woman to a lifetime position on the federal bench (including six Black women who were confirmed multiple times), and DuBose is the 10th openly LGBTQ judge confirmed during the Biden administration, according to the Leadership Conference.
While there has never before been a person of color on the US District Court in Rhode Island, Rhode Island resident O. Rogeriee Thompson broke ground as the first Black woman to serve on the state District Court, state Superior Court, and US First Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Judge DuBose’s confirmation matters because judicial diversity — both personal and professional — helps to build public trust in courts, improves judicial decision-making, and strengthens our democracy,” Wiley said.
Black women and openly LGBTQ people have long been underrepresented in the federal courts, she said. “It matters because this representation will inspire more Black women and more LGBTQ people to go to law school and seek to serve in such positions. And it matters because having a judiciary staffed with fair-minded and ethical judges is a critically important component of protecting democracy and our hard-won civil rights gains.”
President Biden nominated DuBose in January after Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse jointly recommended her to succeed Judge William E. Smith, who plans to retire from regular active service and assume senior status in 2025.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12 to 9 to recommend the full Senate confirm DuBose. Whitehouse, a member of the Judiciary Committee, joined in voting for her while nine Republican senators voted against her. But Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, crossed party lines to vote for DuBose in committee.
After Tuesday’s vote, Reed and Whitehouse issued a joint statement, saying, “This bipartisan vote is great news for Rhode Island. Judge DuBose will make an outstanding addition to the federal bench. She has proven to be an exceptional jurist with a track record of ensuring trials are fair and efficient.”
The senators said they’re confident DuBose will continue to serve “with honor, integrity, and distinction” on the US District Court, “where she will make history” as the first Black woman and first openly LGBTQ judge on that court.
DuBose will continue to serve on the Rhode Island District Court until Smith officially takes senior status on Jan. 1, 2025. She will then take the oath of office to serve on the US District Court.
Longtime Rhode Island civil rights leader Clifford R. Montiero, a former president of the NAACP Providence branch, thanked Reed and Whitehouse for backing DuBose. He said he began pushing for judges of color in the 1980s, and now there is racial diversity at all levels of the judiciary in Rhode Island.
“It’s an excellent day for Rhode Island,” Montiero said. “We finally knocked down the last door. I don’t think there is door in the judicial system we have not opened.”
He noted DuBose grew up in Rhode Island and taught in the Providence public school system before attending the Roger Williams University School of Law. “She is in tune with the community because she is part of the community,” he said.
Montiero credited RWU Law with helping to develop a pipeline of qualified lawyers of color who are becoming judges. “They made a commitment to diversity,” he said.
DuBose, 55, graduated from Providence College in 1990 with an undergraduate degree in political science and went on to receive her teaching certification from the Providence College School of Continuing Education.
She taught history and civics in the Providence public schools for a decade and earned her law degree from the Roger Williams University School of Law in 2004. She became a state special assistant attorney general, assigned to the criminal division from 2005 to 2008. She went on to serve as senior legal counsel at Schneider Electric in Foxboro, Mass. In December 2018, then-governor Gina M. Raimondo appointed DuBose to the state District Court.
University of Richmond School of Law Professor Carl Tobias, who focuses on federal judicial selection, said the closeness of the vote reflects the “lock step voting” seen in Congress these days. “It should never have been that close because I think she is well qualified, tied to the community, has strong home state senator support, and she clearly and comprehensively answered questions in the hearing,” he said.
Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, joined Graham in crossing party lines to vote for DuBose, but Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, voted against her. He said Graham, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, believes elections have consequences and senators should confirm judicial picks unless they can’t abide the nominees.
Tobias said Biden has made a concerted effort to appoint women and people of color to the federal judiciary. “You get a different perspective on decision making that helps the court,” he said. “People are more sensitive to bias or prejudice in the court system, and they look like the people who come into their court. They have similar life experience, and it can help defendants feel like they got a fair shake.”
Located in Providence, the US District Court for Rhode Island is a federal trial court, which hears both civil and criminal matters. The court now includes Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., Judge Smith, Judge Mary S. McElroy, plus Magistrate Judges Lincoln D. Almond and Patricia A. Sullivan.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @FitzProv.
