Biden to nominate Nashville attorney for Sixth Circuit federal appeals court

President Joe Biden plans to nominate a Nashville lawyer to take the place of a soon-retiring federal appeals court judge who also hails from Music City, the White House announced Thursday.

The president said he intends to nominate Karla M. Campbell to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to fill a vacancy after Judge Jane Bransetter Stranch steps down from active service on the court. The Sixth Circuit Court, based in Cincinnati, hears cases from Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.

This would be Campbell's first time on the bench if confirmed, having worked at Nashville law firm Stranch, Jennings & Garvey since 2009. She became a partner in 2015 and has been of counsel since 2022.

Stranch was a managing partner at Stranch, Jennings & Garvey before President Barack Obama nominated her to the court in 2010. Campbell worked as a law clerk for Stranch from 2010 to 2011.

Campbell could become Biden's fifth appointee to the Sixth Circuit Court after the president nominated another Tennessee lawyer in March. U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz of the Western District of Tennessee is awaiting confirmation by the Senate to take the place of Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, a George W. Bush appointee.

If both Campbell and Ritz are confirmed, seven of the court's 16 judges will have been appointed by Democratic presidents.

The announcement is part of Biden's 50th round of nominees for positions on the federal judiciary, along with another circuit court and two district court nominations. The president has now announced 244 federal judicial nominees.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Biden nominates Karla Campbell, Nashville lawyer, for Sixth Circuit