US Senate Approves First Muslim Nusrat Choudhury As Federal Judge, Advocacy Activist: Long Awaited

JAKARTA - The United States Senate confirmed civil rights lawyer Nusrat Choudhury as the first Muslim woman to serve as a federal judge in the United States, to be precise for the New York Eastern District Court, while making her a Bangladesh-American federal judge in the country.

Choudhury, who served as Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Illinois, was confirmed after a tight-performing vote in the Senate, 50:49 for his approval.

Choudhury spent most of his professional career at the national ACLU, where he worked in the field of racial justice and national security issues. He is deputy director of the organization's racial justice program from 2018 to 2020.

The White House said President Joe Biden nominated a civil rights lawyer in January 2022, along with seven other federal judicial candidates, as quoted by CNN.

"This fulfills the President's promise to ensure that the state court reflects diversity which is one of our greatest assets as a court both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds," the White House said.

Previously, Zahid Quraishi, district judge for the New Jersey District and the first American Muslim federal judge in the history of Uncle Sam's country, was also appointed by President Biden and confirmed in 2021.

Meanwhile, groups of civil liberties and advocacy of Muslims in the United States welcomed the inauguration of Choudhury.

"Today's long-awaited vote to appoint Nusrat Choudhury to become a federal judge is a historic subject for many reasons. Choudhury has devoted his career to ensuring that everyone is treated fairly by our legal system," said US-based Executive Director of the Muslim Advocacy Group Omar Farah in a press statement.

"Today's confirmation means that someone who has worked in the field of civil rights and faces obstacles to justice in many communities will make important decisions as a federal judge."

One of the things that made the election tight was after he was rejected by several Senate members from the Republican Party, over comments by police killing unarmed blacks "every day" at the 2015 event at Princeton University.

Later, in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee panel, he said that "Such statements are inconsistent with my deep respect for law enforcement."

"Nusrat Choudhury is a pioneering civil rights lawyer with an extraordinary record of advancing equal justice for everyone in our country," ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement.

He added that the confirmation was "an exciting sign of his long track record of protecting civil liberties and civil rights."

It is known, its historical confirmation highlights the lack of diversity among federal judges, race and ethnicity, as well as gender.

A letter addressed to Senator Dick Durbin of the Senate Judiciary Committee by several advocacy groups supporting his candidacy said New York, where Choudhury will serve, is home to some of the country's largest Muslim and Bangladeshi communities.

"Confirmation of Choudhury will add to personal and professional diversity in court, elements that are urgently needed to increase public confidence in the judiciary, and to better complement courts in providing equal justice," the letter read.