She began her legal career as a
law clerk to Judge
David H. Coar of the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2005 to 2006, and then for Judge
Roger Gregory of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 2006 to 2007. She was a litigation
associate at
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in
Chicago from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2020, she worked as a staff attorney at the
federal public defender program in the Northern District of Illinois. In 2018, she also co-taught a class in criminal law at
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. On April 28, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On May 20, 2021, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–10 vote. On June 21, 2021, Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer filed
cloture on her nomination. On June 23, 2021, the
United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 53–47 vote. On June 24, 2021, her nomination was confirmed by a 53–40 vote. She received her judicial commission on July 1, 2021. She is the second African-American woman (after
Ann Claire Williams) and the first former federal public defender to sit on the Seventh Circuit.
U.S. Supreme Court speculation In January 2022,
Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announced that he would retire at the end of the term. Jackson-Akiwumi was included in lists of potential nominees for a Supreme Court appointment under President
Joe Biden, who pledged to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court if given the opportunity. Ultimately, Biden nominated
Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was confirmed in April of that year. == See also ==