The U.S. Senate confirmed Tiffany P. Cunningham to the Federal Circuit, the nation’s top patent court.
Cunningham will be the first Black judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the only federal appeals court never to have a Black member. Her addition to the 12-member court leaves its membership equally divided between men and women.
The Senate voted 63-33 to confirm Cunningham, a partner at Perkins Coie LLP and former Federal Circuit clerk. She replaces Judge Evan J. Wallach, who took senior status at the end of May.