Today, in an historic and unanimous vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Michael Hughes to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, making him the most senior openly gay judge in the U.S. Hughes is the deputy director of the Department of Justice’s commercial litigation branch for the civil division. He received his A.B. from Harvard College and earned a joint J.D. and M.A. in English from Duke University. His practice has focused on veteran’s benefits, governmental personnel law, international trade and government contracts, all issues in the jurisdictional purview of the Federal Circuit Court.
The vote, which was 98-0, does not overshadow the fact that President Obama has appointed several openly gay judges to courtships. The British gay LGBT portal, PinkNews.co.uk, offered this reminder: “Seven openly gay judges have already been confirmed to serve on district courts, which rank one level below the circuit courts. The first, Deborah Batts in the Southern District of New York, took senior status in April 2012, and the remaining six were all appointed by President Obama. Meanwhile, the nomination of Judge William Thomas, who would have become the first black openly gay man on the federal bench, has effectively been blocked after Republican Senator Marco Rubio announced he was withdrawing support.”
Congress in 1982 established what is now the only U.S. court of appeals defined exclusively by its jurisdiction rather than geographical boundaries. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit assumed the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the appellate jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Claims. The new court was authorized to hear appeals from several federal administrative boards as well. Congress abolished the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the U.S. Court of Claims, reassigning those courts’ 12 judges to serve on the Federal Circuit court. The act of 1982 also established a U.S. Claims Court (now the U.S. Court of Federal Claims).
There are still 13 judicial nominees awaiting Senate votes: two D.C. Circuit Court nominees and 11 district court nominees.
