Following Senator Murray’s Recommendation, President Biden Makes Whitehead His First Disabled Nominee to the Federal Bench
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) applauded President Biden’s nomination of Jamal Whitehead and Kymberly Evanson to serve on the Western District Court in Washington state following her recommendation. Whitehead is the first disabled Biden Administration nominee to the federal bench.
“Our federal bench should be filled with judges who are committed to justice and who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve—which is why I am thrilled for Jamal, his family, and the Western District of Washington state,” said Senator Murray. “Throughout his career, Jamal has prioritized those who have been discriminated against in the workplace or have been victims of other unlawful employment practices. The people of Washington state deserve a justice system that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and powerful. I look forward to his swift confirmation so he can get to work for the community he grew up in and the people of Washington state.”
Whitehead is currently a shareholder at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender (SGB) in Seattle. His practice focuses on civil litigation, with a focus on representing individuals facing workplace discrimination, retaliation, and other unlawful employment practices as well as bringing class actions based on similar practices. Whitehead’s trial experience includes serving as lead class counsel for over 10,000 detained individuals at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. The suit resulted in a jury award of $17.3 million to the class for backpay owed by the private-prison giant GEO Group, who operates the Northwest Detention Center. Whitehead received his B.A. the University of Washington and his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
“The Western District of Washington state deserves judges who will apply the law fairly and evenly, and that’s exactly who they’ll get in Kymberly Evanson,” Senator Murray continued. “Kymberly has extensive litigation experience on behalf of municipalities and has been steadfast in her commitment to fairness and to justice, especially in her pro bono practice and her work on First Amendment cases. The Senate should move to confirm her without delay so she can continue to work for the people of Washington state.”
Evanson is a partner at Pacifica Law Group, where she represents state, municipal, private, and non-profit clients on matters involving the First Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a range of other constitutional, municipal, elections, and administrative matters. Prior to joining Pacifica in 2011, Evanson was an associate at K&L Gates in Seattle. She has also represented various governmental entities across Washington state, including King County, Seattle-King County Public Health, the City of Seattle, and the State of Washington. She has also done significant pro bono work with a particular focus in recent years on clemency cases. Evanson received her undergraduate degree from Seattle University and her J.D. from Georgetown University. After graduating from law school, she clerked for Judge Emmet Sullivan on the District Court for the District of Columbia.
Senator Murray has been a strong advocate for the confirmation of highly-qualified judicial nominees who reflect the diversity of communities in Washington state and America, pushing for greater professional diversity on the federal bench in particular. Since the start of this Congress, Senator Murray has secured the lifetime appointments of five highly qualified candidates as federal district court judges in Washington state.
Most recently, Senator Murray secured the confirmations of Tana Lin, Washington state’s first ever Asian American federal judge and a former public defender and civil rights lawyer; Lauren King, a tribal law expert who is serving as Washington state’s first ever Native American federal judge; John Chun, who will be the first Asian American man to serve as a federal judge in Washington state; David Estudillo, the son of Mexican immigrants and a former immigration attorney; and Kit Dimke who is serving in the Eastern District of Washington from the Spokane Courthouse. Senator Murray is currently pushing to confirm Salvador Mendoza Jr. to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals who, as a child, worked as a farmworker and is the son of Mexican immigrants who worked as farm laborers, maids, and factory workers; and Tiffany Cartwright, a leading civil rights lawyer, both of whom advanced out the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support.
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