Public Defender, Navy Vet Confirmed to Red State Appellate Seat

Richard Federico, a longtime federal public defender, litigator, and military judge, was confirmed with bipartisan support to an appellate seat in Kansas.

Senate confirmation on Monday, 61-29, concluded a bumpy ride for Democrats to fill the seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated by Clinton appointee Mary Briscoe. She took senior status, a form of semi-retirement, in 2021.

Federico is Biden’s second appointment to the Denver-based court where judges appointed by Democrats hold a narrow edge in seats.

The appointment reflects coordination between home-state Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall, and the Democratic-led White House.

Supporters touted his range of Navy and civilian legal experience as well suited to appellate work.

“He has served on all sides of litigation, which affords him the perfect balance to be a fair and impartial circuit judge,” more than a dozen judge advocates who’ve served with Federico in the Navy Reserve, Judge Advocate General Corps said in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Second Nominee

Federico wasn’t Biden’s first choice for the seat. The nomination of federal prosecutor Jabari Wamble in 2022 lapsed without a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, and he wasn’t renominated. No reason was given, but Wamble never received a rating from the American Bar Association, which is customary for judicial nominees.

He was later picked for a trial court vacancy “after further consideration and conversation with Mr. Wamble regarding his own interests and experience,” a White House official at the time said about the decision.

Roughly five months later, Biden put Federico’s name forward for the appellate seat.

The Indiana native and University of Kansas School of Law graduate is a rare Biden judicial appointee to have served in the military. He was a Navy JAG prosecutor and defense counsel while on active duty, and an appellate defense counsel and a judge in the reserves.

Federico also is one of Biden’s several appellate appointees with public defender experience, which is generally not considered a career path to the federal judiciary. Others with similar experience include Candace Jackson-Akiwumi appointed the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit and Arianna Freeman on the Philadelphia-based Third Circuit.

Beginning in 2008, Federico represented detainees facing prosecution by military commission. He made more than 20 trips to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and investigative missions to Afghanistan and Korea, according to his Senate Judiciary Questionnaire.

After leaving active duty, Federico joined the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the District of Kansas.

He notably represented Tyler Barriss, a man imprisoned for a “swatting” attack—or a hoax call reporting a serious crime to provoke an armed law enforcement response. The call led to the police shooting death of Andrew Finch in 2017.

Federico had requested a 20-year sentence for Barriss, higher than the minimum of 10 but lower than the 25 sought by prosecutors. Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Bariss to 20 years.

Federico’s public defense background was a target of Republican scrutiny during his confirmation hearing and in follow-up questioning.

As a prosecutor, Federico led the criminal investigation of the 2020 fire and explosion aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego that led to the decommissioning of the amphibious assault ship. A Navy seaman charged with arson was acquitted.