TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on May 24, 2021

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bernice Donald has notified President Joe Biden of her intent to take senior status upon confirmation of a successor, Law.com reports. The move will give the president his first appointment on the appeals court, which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Donald was appointed to the court in 2011 by then-President Barack Obama. She previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District Tennessee and the Shelby County General Sessions Court. She broke barriers at every court she joined, becoming the first African American woman to serve as a Tennessee judge, the first African American woman in the country to serve as a bankruptcy judge, the first African American woman to serve on the District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, and the first African American to serve on the 6th Circuit. Among her many honors, she received the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Divisions Fellows in 2007 and the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award from the ABA in 2017.