DC Circuit’s Rogers to Go Senior, Biden Gets Third Seat to Fill

Judith Rogers is stepping down in September as an active judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after 28 years.

Rogers, who was appointed by Bill Clinton as the first Black woman on the court, will be taking senior status, according to the federal judiciary’s website.

The decision gives President Joe Biden a fourth appointment to the chief venue for cases involving Congress and inter-agency disputes that has been a springboard for some to the Supreme Court.

The nomination of US District Judge Michelle Childs to replace David Tatel, who took senior status in May, awaits action on the Senate floor. District Judge Florence Pan has been tapped to fill the seat vacated by soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson replaced Merrick Garland, who became Biden’s attorney general in 2021.

Senior judges can choose to handle a lighter caseload, but their status change creates a vacancy on the court.

The American Bar Association referred to Rogers in a bio on its websiteas a trailblazer in her profession, having been the fourth woman and the first Black woman to serve on the DC Circuit.