TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 4, 2022

President Joe Biden last week announced he is nominating federal judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Davis currently serves on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was named a district court judge in December 2019 after serving as a magistrate judge in the district for three years. Before joining the bench, she worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and in private practice at Dickinson Wright in Detroit. Davis earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law in 1992. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to serve on the court from Michigan, and only the second Black woman – behind Judge Bernice Donald of Tennessee – to serve on the court. In May, Judge Donald notified President Biden that she intends to take senior status as soon as her replacement is sworn in on the court. In November, Biden nominated Memphis lawyer Andre Mathis for the seat.