California Black Media
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted last week to confirm Judge Michelle Williams Court as judge for the Central District of California by a vote of 49-44.
In her new role, Court becomes the third Black woman and fifth in the court’s history to serve as a judge in the state’s Central District.
Since 2012, Court had served as a judge in Los Angeles Superior Court. In 2023, she was a supervising judge in the court’s civil division.
Before being a judge, she worked as an attorney, then later became the vice president and general counsel at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm specializing in human rights and poverty justice.
Court dedicated her career as a lawyer to civil rights and social development. She led and contributed to several projects at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California.
Williams earned her juris doctor degree in 1993 from the Loyola Law School and she received her bachelor’s degree in 1988 from Pomona College.
U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler helped steer Williams’ nomination through the Senate.
“The Central District of California serves roughly 17 million people, making it the largest federal district by population in the entire United States,” Butler said. “The judges who serve these Californians are currently facing an unprecedented number of filings, making the need to fill the court’s vacancies all that more urgent.
“It is commonly said that ‘justice delayed is justice denied,’ and at this moment the people of California’s Central District are indeed being denied justice as a direct result of these judicial vacancies,” Butler added.
Butler also praised Court’s commitment to justice and her track record of serving the state.
“Her nomination is an important step towards building trust in our legal system by ensuring that our federal courts reflect and represent the diversity of the people it serves,” she said.
