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Stephanie D. Davis
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office June 14, 2022
Appointed by	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Helene White
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
In office December 31, 2019 – June 14, 2022
Appointed by	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Gerald Ellis Rosen
Succeeded by	Susan K. DeClercq
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
In office January 2016 – December 31, 2019
Personal details
Born	Stephanie Renaye Dawkins 1967 (age 56–57) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Children	3
Education	Wichita State University (BS) Washington University in St. Louis (JD)

Stephanie Dawkins Davis (née Stephanie Renaye Dawkins, born 1967) is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.

Early life and education

Davis is a native of Kansas City, Kansas, and a graduate of F.L. Schlagle High School, where she was raised as an only child by a single mother. Davis received a Bachelor of Science from Wichita State University in 1989 and her Juris Doctor from the Washington University School of Law in 1992. She became interested in the law as a young student in Kansas because of Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Career

Davis began her legal career in products liability and commercial law at Dickinson Wright in Detroit, where she was mentored by future Michigan Supreme Court Justice Mary Beth Kelly. She left private practice to join the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1997, where she served in both the civil and criminal divisions. She spent 18 years working in the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecuting cases at both the trial and appellate levels, and serving as a deputy unit chief of the Controlled Substances Unit and high-intensity drug trafficking area liaison. Davis was a member of the American Constitution Society from 2008 and 2016. She also served as the executive assistant U.S. attorney under then-U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade from 2010 to 2015. Davis serves on the advisory board for University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Federal judicial service

United States magistrate judge

In January 2016, she became a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. During her tenure, she arraigned Amor Ftouhi for his role in the 2017 Bishop International Airport attack. Her service as a magistrate judge ended on December 31, 2019, when she was elevated to district court judge.

District court service

In December 2017, Davis was recommended to the Trump administration by Democratic U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters. On March 8, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Davis to serve as a United States district judge for the Eastern District of Michigan as part of a bipartisan package of nominees which included Michael S. Bogren. On March 11, 2019, President Trump nominated Davis to the seat vacated by Judge Gerald Ellis Rosen, who assumed senior status on October 26, 2016. On May 22, 2019, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On June 20, 2019, her nomination was favorably reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a voice vote. On December 16, 2019, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture on her nomination. On December 18, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 90–1 vote. On December 19, 2019, her nomination was confirmed by a voice vote. She received her judicial commission on December 31, 2019, and was sworn in later that same day. Her service was terminated on June 14, 2022, when she was elevated to the court of appeals.

Court of appeals service

On February 2, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Davis to serve as a United States circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit. President Biden nominated Davis to the seat to be vacated by Judge Helene White, who announced her intent to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. On March 2, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On April 4, 2022, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 13–9 vote. On May 17, 2022, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination. On May 19, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 48–36 vote. On May 24, 2022, her nomination was confirmed by a 49–43 vote. She received her judicial commission on June 14, 2022. She is the first African-American woman from Michigan to serve on the Sixth Circuit.

Personal life

Davis is married to an engineer and has three adult children.

See also

• List of African American federal judges
• List of African American jurists

References

1. ^ Burke, Melissa Nann; Snell, Robert; Oosting, Jonathan (March 8, 2019). "Trump picks first black female judge nominee as he tries to fill Mich. vacancies". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
2. ^ "Magistrate Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis", United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. ^ ""President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees", The White House, March 8, 2019". Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
4. "Judge Stephanie Davis – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan". July 9, 2019. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
5. ^ Stephanie D. Davis at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
6. "Judge Stephanie Davis – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan". July 9, 2019. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
7. ""Ten Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, March 11, 2019". Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
8. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for May 22, 2019
9. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 20, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
10. "PN511 — Stephanie Dawkins Davis — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
11. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Stephanie Dawkins Davis to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan)". United States Senate. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
12. "PN511 — Stephanie Dawkins Davis — The Judiciary". United States Congress. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
13. "Magistrate Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis Sworn In as U.S. District Judge for Eastern Michigan" (PDF). United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
14. "President Biden Makes Fourteenth Judicial Nominations Announcement". The White House. February 2, 2022. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
15. "Press Release: Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. February 2, 2022. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
16. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. February 28, 2022.
17. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – April 4, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
18. "PN1748 — Stephanie Dawkins Davis — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
19. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Stephanie Dawkins Davis to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit)". United States Senate. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
20. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Stephanie Dawkins Davis, of Michigan, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit)". United States Senate. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
21. "U.S. Senate confirms Michigan's Davis to 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals". Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

External links

• Stephanie D. Davis at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

• 1967 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century American women lawyers
• 21st-century American judges
• 21st-century American women judges
• African-American judges
• Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• Michigan lawyers
• Lawyers from Kansas City, Missouri
• United States court of appeals judges appointed by Joe Biden
• United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump
• United States magistrate judges
• Washington University School of Law alumni
• Wichita State University alumni
• 20th-century African-American lawyers