Senate Confirms Judge Adalberto Jordán for Eleventh Circuit
After Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) held up the confirmation vote earlier in the week, the Senate confirmed Judge Adalberto José Jordán for a seat on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday by a vote of 94-5, reports The Washington Post.
President Obama nominated Jordán in August to succeed Senior Judge Susan Black.
Judge Jordán became a political pawn this week as Senator Paul delayed the confirmation to push for a vote on his bill to block U.S. financial aid to Egypt. (Paul's bill is a response to Egypt's recent detention of 19 American, non-governmental workers accused of illegally receiving foreign funding, according to The Atlantic.) The Senate invoked cloture on Monday night, and approved Jordán's nomination on Wednesday, after the requisite 30-hour waiting period.
Judge Jordán has served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami since 1999. He is also an adjunct professor of law at University of Miami School of Law and Florida International University College of Law.
Jordán was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with his parents as a child. He received his B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Miami in 1984, and his J.D. summa cum laude from University of Miami School of Law in 1987. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Thomas A. Clark of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Judge Jordán has worked in both the private and public sectors. He was as a litigation associate, and later partner, at a Miami law firm, and an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has not indicated when Judge Jordán will be sworn in.
Related Resources:
- Senate Confirms Judge Adalberto Jordan to the Federal Appeals Court (Miami Herald)
- Judicial Nominee Caitlin Halligan Blocked by Republicans (FindLaw's DC Circuit blog)
- Obama Nominates Judge Robert Bacharach to Tenth Circuit (FindLaw's Tenth Circuit blog)
- Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (US Courts)