Biden to Tap US Magistrate Judge for Eleventh Circuit Seat

The White House plans to nominate former prosecutor and US Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd for the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Kidd has been a judge at the magistrate level for the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida since 2019. He was previously a prosecutor in the US Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida and an associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington.

Kidd has a more traditional resume compared to Biden’s previous nominee to the Atlanta-based Eleventh Circuit, Nancy Abudu, a former civil rights lawyer for groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union.

If confirmed, Kidd would replace Judge Charles Wilson in Tampa, Florida, which has two Republican senators—Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.

President Joe Biden also plans to tap Meredith Vacca, a New York State court judge, for a seat on the Western District of New York. Vacca would be the first judge of color on the court if confirmed. It’s one of roughly a quarter of such courts that’s never had a non-White judge.

Biden’s intent to nominate her comes after Colleen Holland, the White House’s previous pick, had asked to be withdrawn from consideration. She wasn’t renominated at the start of the new year.

For the District of Maryland, Adam Abelson, a US magistrate judge for the court, is the intended pick for a spot at the trial level.

And for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Biden plans to elevate Joseph Saporito, Jr., the chief US magistrate judge for the court, for the trial bench there. He was previously a part-time public defender at the county level in Pennsylvania, while working in private practice.