Bradley Garcia

District of Columbia Circuit
	Court of Appeals
Judgeships
	Posts: 11
	Judges: 11
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Sri Srinivasan
	Active judges: ; Julianna Michelle Childs, Bradley Garcia, Karen Henderson, Greg Katsas, Patricia Ann Millett, Florence Pan, Cornelia T. L. Pillard, Neomi Rao, Srikanth Srinivasan, Justin Walker, Robert Leon Wilkins; Senior judges:; James Buckley, Harry Edwards, Douglas Ginsburg, Arthur Randolph, Judith Rogers, David Sentelle, David Tatel

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Bradley Garcia
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 334 days after nomination.
	Nominated: June 15, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well qualified by a substantial majority/qualified by a minority
	Questionnaire:
	Hearing: July 27, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: February 2, 2023
	Confirmed: May 15, 2023
	Vote: 53-40

Bradley Garcia is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on June 15, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 15, 2023, by a vote of 53-40.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Garcia was a deputy assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel.^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On June 15, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Garcia to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. He officially nominated Garcia the same day.^[1]^[2] Garcia's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[6] The president renominated Garcia on the same day. He was confirmed by a 53 - 40 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 15, 2023.^[3] Garcia received commission on May 16, 2023.^[5] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Garcia by a vote of 53-40 on May 15, 2023.^[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Garcia confirmation vote (May 15, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	3	40	6
Independent	3	0	0
Total	53	40	7

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Garcia's nomination on July 27, 2022. He was reported to the full Senate on September 15, 2022, after a 12-10 committee vote.^[7] Garcia's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[8] The president renominated Garcia on the same day.^[3] Garcia was again reported to the full Senate on February 2, 2023, after a 11-9 committee vote.^[4]

Nomination

On June 15, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Bradley Garcia to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.^[2]

Garcia was nominated to replace Judge Judith Rogers, who assumed senior status on September 1, 2022.^[9]^[2]

The American Bar Association rated Garcia well qualified by a substantial majority/qualified by a minority.^[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Garcia's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[11] The president renominated Garcia on the same day.^[3]

Biography

Education

Garcia earned a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University in 2008 and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2011.^[1]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
2022 - 2023: Deputy assistant attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel
2013-2022: Attorney and partner, O’Melveny and Myers LLP
2012-2013: Law clerk for Justice Elena Kagan, United States Supreme Court
2011-2012: Law clerk for Judge Thomas Griffith, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

About the court

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

This court should not be confused with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which is equivalent to a state supreme court in the District of Columbia, or with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction is limited by subject matter. Appeals are heard in the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C.

Eight judges of the District of Columbia Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States: Fred M. Vinson, Wiley Rutledge, Warren Burger, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, and Brett Kavanaugh.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the D.C. Circuit are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Chief Justice John Roberts is the circuit justice for the D.C. Circuit.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.