The President is announcing his intent to nominate six individuals to federal district courts—all of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country—both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

This will be President Biden’s forty-fourth round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 215.

United States District Court Announcements

1. Amir H. Ali: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Amir H. Ali has been President and Executive Director of the MacArthur Justice Center since 2021 and Director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic at Harvard Law School since 2018. Previously, Mr. Ali worked in private practice as an associate at Jenner & Block LLP in Washington, D.C. from 2013 to 2017. He also served as a law clerk for Justice Marshall Rothstein on the Supreme Court of Canada from 2012 to 2013 and Judge Raymond C. Fisher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2011 to 2012. Mr. Ali received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2011 and his B.S.E. from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada in 2008.

2. Judge Melissa R. DuBose: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

Judge Melissa R. DuBose has been an associate judge on the Rhode Island District Court in Providence since 2019. Previously, Judge DuBose practiced law as an in-house counsel for Schneider Electric in Foxboro, Massachusetts from 2008 to 2019. She began her legal career as a prosecutor in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, where she worked from 2005 to 2008. Judge DuBose received her J.D. from Roger Williams School of Law in 2004 and her B.A. from Providence College in 1990. Before becoming an attorney, Judge DuBose worked for almost 10 years as a high school U.S. history and social studies teacher and completed law school while continuing to teach full time.

3. Judge Sunil R. Harjani: Candidate for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Judge Sunil R. Harjani has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2019. Judge Harjani previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois from 2008 to 2019. He also practiced federal civil litigation as a senior counsel at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission from 2004 to 2008 and as an associate at Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago from 2000 to 2001 and 2002 to 2004. Judge Harjani served as a law clerk for Judge Suzanne B. Conlon on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2001 to 2002. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 2000 and his B.A. from Northwestern University in 1997.

4. Judge Rebecca S. Kanter: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California

Judge Rebecca S. Kanter has been a judge on the San Diego County Superior Court since 2023. Judge Kanter previously worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California from 2006 to 2022. She served as Deputy Chief in that office’s Major Crimes Section from 2018 to 2019. From 2004 to 2006, Judge Kanter was an associate in the Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles offices of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. She served as a law clerk for Judge Harry L. Hupp on the U.S. District for the Central District of California from 2003 to 2004. Judge Kanter received her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2003 and her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine in 2000.

5. Robert J. White: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Robert J. White has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan since 2018. Previously, Mr. White served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas from 2014 to 2018. Before that, he worked as an Associate Attorney at Ralph E. Meczyk and Associates from 2010 to 2014. He received his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2010 and his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 2007.

6. Jasmine H. Yoon: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia

Jasmine H. Yoon has been the Vice President of Corporate Integrity, Ethics, and Investigations at Capital One Financial Corporation since 2022. Previously, Ms. Yoon worked as Interim University Counsel and Associate University Counsel at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from 2019 to 2022. Prior to that, Ms. Yoon served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2010 to 2016. Ms. Yoon was also an associate at Crowell & Moring LLP in Washington, D.C. from 2006 to 2009 in its White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement group. She served as a law clerk for Judge James C. Cacheris on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2009 to 2010. Ms. Yoon received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006 and her B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2003.

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