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=== Nomination to district court ===
=== Nomination to district court ===


On February 21, 2024, President [[Joe Biden]] announced his intent to nominate Sooknanan to serve as a [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]].<ref name="WHBio" /> Sooknanan was recommended to the seat by Delegate [[Eleanor Holmes Norton]].<ref>{{Cite press release |title=BIDEN NOMINATES NORTON RECOMMENDATION, SPARKLE L. SOOKNANAN, FOR THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR D.C. |date=February 21, 2024 |url=https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/biden-nominates-norton-recommendation-sparkle-l-sooknanan-us-district-court-dc |access-date=February 21, 2024}}</ref> On February 27, 2024, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Sooknanan to the seat vacated by Judge [[Florence Y. Pan]], who was elevated to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] on September 28, 2022.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Nominations Sent to the Senate |date=February 27, 2024|publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/02/27/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-138/}}</ref> On March 20, 2024, a hearing on her nomination was held before the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nominations|date=March 19, 2024|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/hearings/03/20/2024/nominations}}</ref> During her confirmation hearing, she was questioned by Senator [[Josh Hawley]] over her work for [[Jones Day]] representing hedge fund investors working in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Weiss|first=Benjamin S.|title=Senate Republicans buck blue slips on US attorney nominees|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/senate-republicans-buck-blue-slips-on-us-attorney-nominees/|website=Courthouse News|access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref> Sooknanan served as lead counsel on behalf of Puerto Rican bondholders or [[vulture fund]]s who were seeking to maximize recovery of money during the [[Puerto Rican government-debt crisis]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dayen |first1=David |title=Biden Judge Nominee Worked for Vulture Funds Holding Puerto Rican Debt |url=https://prospect.org/justice/2024-02-28-biden-judge-nominee-vulture-funds-puerto-rican-debt/ |access-date=16 May 2024 |work=The American Prospect |date=28 February 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref> Sooknanan told Hawley that she had not been lead counsel, although legal records and Jones Day confirmed that she had been lead counsel.<ref name=prospect>{{cite news |last1=Dayen |first1=David |title=Biden Nominee Asked About Discrepancies in Testimony |url=https://prospect.org/justice/2024-04-05-biden-nominee-sooknanan-testimony/ |access-date=16 May 2024 |work=The American Prospect |date=5 April 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref> On April 18, 2024, her nomination was favorably reported out of committee by a 11–10 [[party-line vote]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024-04-18_-_ebm_-_results.pdf|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 18, 2024|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release |title=Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Ten Nominations to the Full Senate |date=April 18, 2024 |publisher=United States Senate Judiciary Committee |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/releases/senate-judiciary-committee-advances-ten-nominations-to-the-full-senate |access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref> Her nomination is pending before the [[United States Senate]].
On February 21, 2024, President [[Joe Biden]] announced his intent to nominate Sooknanan to serve as a [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]].<ref name="WHBio" /> Sooknanan was recommended to the seat by Delegate [[Eleanor Holmes Norton]].<ref>{{Cite press release |title=BIDEN NOMINATES NORTON RECOMMENDATION, SPARKLE L. SOOKNANAN, FOR THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR D.C. |date=February 21, 2024 |url=https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/biden-nominates-norton-recommendation-sparkle-l-sooknanan-us-district-court-dc |access-date=February 21, 2024}}</ref> On February 27, 2024, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Sooknanan to the seat vacated by Judge [[Florence Y. Pan]], who was elevated to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] on September 28, 2022.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Nominations Sent to the Senate |date=February 27, 2024|publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/02/27/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-138/}}</ref> On March 20, 2024, a hearing on her nomination was held before the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nominations|date=March 19, 2024|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/hearings/03/20/2024/nominations}}</ref> During her confirmation hearing, she was questioned by Senator [[Josh Hawley]] over her work for [[Jones Day]] representing hedge fund investors working in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Weiss|first=Benjamin S.|title=Senate Republicans buck blue slips on US attorney nominees|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/senate-republicans-buck-blue-slips-on-us-attorney-nominees/|website=Courthouse News|access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref> Sooknanan served as lead counsel on behalf of Puerto Rican bondholders or [[vulture fund]]s who were seeking to maximize recovery of money during the [[Puerto Rican government-debt crisis]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dayen |first1=David |title=Biden Judge Nominee Worked for Vulture Funds Holding Puerto Rican Debt |url=https://prospect.org/justice/2024-02-28-biden-judge-nominee-vulture-funds-puerto-rican-debt/ |access-date=16 May 2024 |work=The American Prospect |date=28 February 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref> Sooknanan told Hawley that she had not been lead counsel, although legal records and Jones Day confirmed that she had been lead counsel.<ref name=prospect>{{cite news |last1=Dayen |first1=David |title=Biden Nominee Asked About Discrepancies in Testimony |url=https://prospect.org/justice/2024-04-05-biden-nominee-sooknanan-testimony/ |access-date=16 May 2024 |work=The American Prospect |date=5 April 2024 |language=en-us}}</ref> On April 18, 2024, her nomination was favorably reported out of committee by a 11–10 [[party-line vote]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024-04-18_-_ebm_-_results.pdf|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 18, 2024|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release |title=Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Ten Nominations to the Full Senate |date=April 18, 2024 |publisher=United States Senate Judiciary Committee |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/releases/senate-judiciary-committee-advances-ten-nominations-to-the-full-senate |access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref> On November 20, 2024, the [[United States Senate]] invoked cloture on her nomination by a 51–49 vote. Her nomination is pending before the [[United States Senate]].


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 04:21, 21 November 2024

Sparkle L. Sooknanan
Personal details
Born
Sparkle Leah Sooknanan

1983 (age 41–42)
Trinidad and Tobago[1]
EducationSt. Francis College (BS)
Hofstra University (MBA)
Brooklyn Law School (JD)

Sparkle Leah Sooknanan[2] (born 1983)[3] is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian born American lawyer who is a nominee to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Education

Sooknanan Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from St. Francis College in 2002, a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Hofstra University in 2003 and a Juris Doctor summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2010.[4]

Career

From 2010 to 2011, Sooknanan served as a law clerk for Judge Eric N. Vitaliano of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, from 2011 to 2012, she was a law clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and from 2013 to 2014, she was a law clerk for Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court. From 2012 to 2013, she worked at the United States Department of Justice as an appellate attorney in the Civil Division.

From 2014 to 2021, Sooknanan worked in private practice at Jones Day, becoming a partner at the firm in 2020. Sooknanan resigned from Jones Day in January 2021. Prior to her resignation, she was reported by The New York Times as denouncing the firm's work in Pennsylvania on behalf of the Trump Administration, saying that one of the firm's lawsuits "was brought for no other reason than to deprive poor people of the right to vote."[5] In her 2024 confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate, Sooknanan denied saying this, stating "Those were not my words. I do not know who provided that quote to the reporter."[6]

Sooknanan was a deputy associate attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice from 2021 to 2023. Since 2023, she has served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.[4]

Nomination to district court

On February 21, 2024, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Sooknanan to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.[4] Sooknanan was recommended to the seat by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.[7] On February 27, 2024, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Sooknanan to the seat vacated by Judge Florence Y. Pan, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on September 28, 2022.[8] On March 20, 2024, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[9] During her confirmation hearing, she was questioned by Senator Josh Hawley over her work for Jones Day representing hedge fund investors working in Puerto Rico.[10] Sooknanan served as lead counsel on behalf of Puerto Rican bondholders or vulture funds who were seeking to maximize recovery of money during the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis.[11] Sooknanan told Hawley that she had not been lead counsel, although legal records and Jones Day confirmed that she had been lead counsel.[6] On April 18, 2024, her nomination was favorably reported out of committee by a 11–10 party-line vote.[12][13] On November 20, 2024, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 51–49 vote. Her nomination is pending before the United States Senate.

References

  1. ^ Williams, Laurel V. (March 8, 2024). "US president nominates Trinidad woman to serve as district judge". newsday.co.tt.
  2. ^ "Sparkle Leah Sooknanan". Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "President Biden Names Forty-Sixth Round of Judicial Nominees and Announces Two New Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorney" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Enrich, David (25 August 2022). "How a Corporate Law Firm Led a Political Revolution". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b Dayen, David (5 April 2024). "Biden Nominee Asked About Discrepancies in Testimony". The American Prospect. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  7. ^ "BIDEN NOMINATES NORTON RECOMMENDATION, SPARKLE L. SOOKNANAN, FOR THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR D.C." (Press release). February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  8. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. February 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. March 19, 2024.
  10. ^ Weiss, Benjamin S. "Senate Republicans buck blue slips on US attorney nominees". Courthouse News. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Dayen, David (28 February 2024). "Biden Judge Nominee Worked for Vulture Funds Holding Puerto Rican Debt". The American Prospect. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 18, 2024" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  13. ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Ten Nominations to the Full Senate" (Press release). United States Senate Judiciary Committee. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
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