CT Supreme Court Justice Maria Kahn, a Biden pick, approved for a second time in U.S Senate

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved state Supreme Court Justice Maria Kahn’s appointment to the federal circuit court of appeals for a second time Thursday after her nomination was lost in the press of business in the closing days of Congress late last year.

The committee approved Kahn’s nomination by President Joseph P. Biden by a partisan 11-9 vote, with Republican Lindsey Graham voting with the majority Democrats.

Kahn breezed through the committee approval process last year, but her nomination was in jeopardy after the full Senate failed to schedule a confirmation vote late in the year.

The nomination would have been in doubt had Democrats failed to win the Senate in the November election. Observers of the confirmation process predict the narrow Democratic majority will be enough to confirm Kahn to the New York appeals court.

“I expect that she will have a debate and confirmation this month or next,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor who tracks federal judicial nominations at the University of Richmond. “I doubt there will be any issue or controversy. It will be pretty straight forward.”

There has been little discussion during the confirmation process of Kahn’s record, as senators focused on other nominees involved in controversial issues such as abortion rights.

Kahn is Biden’s second nominee to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, known for defining law on contracts, securities, antitrust matters and other questions of commercial law. The court, a few blocks above Wall Street, takes federal appeals from New York, Connecticut and Vermont.

If confirmed, Khan would be Connecticut’s third Judge on the 13-member court. She would join fellow Connecticut judges Sarah A.L. Merriam, a Biden nominee confirmed in September, and William Nardini, nominated by former President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2019.

She would replace Jose A. Cabranes of New Haven, who is assuming senior or semi-retired status on the court. Cabranes, once on the short list for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, is the first federal judge of Puerto Rican heritage appointed to the federal bench in the continental United States.

Biden nominated Kahn as part of what the White House told the Senate is an effort to diversify the federal courts with nominees “who reflect the best of America, and who look like America.”

“We therefore ask that you propose talented individuals who would bring to these critically important roles a wide range of life and professional experiences, including those based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, veteran status and disability,” the White House told senators in a letter.

Justice Maria Araujo Kahn was born in Angola, Africa. She emigrated to the United States at ten years of age and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. She graduated from New York University cum laude with a B.A. in politics in 1986 and earned her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 1989. Justice Kahn was the first recipient of the Noreen E. McNamara Scholarship at Fordham University School of Law. Following law school, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Peter C. Dorsey, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Connecticut. She is a member of the United States Supreme Court, United States Federal District Court for the District of Connecticut, United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit, and the Connecticut and New York State Bars.