Patricia Millett
Patricia Ann Millett (/mɪˈlɛt/ ; born September 1963) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2013 as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She formerly headed the Supreme Court practice at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Millett also was a longtime former assistant to the United States Solicitor General and served as an occasional blogger for SCOTUSblog. At the time of her confirmation to the D.C. Circuit, she had argued 32 cases before the United States Supreme Court.[1] In February 2016, The New York Times identified her as a potential nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia.[2]
Patricia Millett
Millett's 2013 nomination to the D.C. Circuit, along with the nominations of Robert L. Wilkins and Nina Pillard, ultimately became central to the debate over the use of the filibuster in the United States Senate, leading to the use of the nuclear option to bring it to the floor for a vote.
Early life and education[edit]
Millett was born in 1963 in Dexter, Maine. Her family's roots in Maine date back to the American Revolutionary War,[3] although she grew up in Marine, Illinois. After graduating from high school in 1981, she studied political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude. She then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1988 with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude.[1][4]
Professional career[edit]
From 1988 to 1990, Millett was in private practice in the litigation department of the Washington, D.C. law firm Miller & Chevalier. She then was a law clerk for Judge Thomas Tang of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1990 to 1992.[1] From 1992 to 1996, Millett worked for the United States Department of Justice Civil Division's appellate staff, briefing and arguing more than 20 cases before federal appeals courts and occasionally state appeals courts.[1] In August 1996, Millett became an assistant to the United States Solicitor General, a position she held until September 2007. During that time, Millett argued 25 cases before the United States Supreme Court and briefed more than 50 cases.[1] In 2007, Millett joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, co-chairing the firm's Supreme Court practice along with Tom Goldstein.[1] In October 2007, Millett began blogging at SCOTUSblog.[5][4]
Federal judicial service[edit]
Consideration for Fourth Circuit[edit]
In February 2009, Legal Times reported that Millett was one of five Virginia residents recommended by the voluntary Virginia Bar Association lawyer organization to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, along with Virginia state senator John S. Edwards, Virginia Supreme Court Justice Barbara Milano Keenan, then University of Virginia School of Law professor James Ryan and former Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Thomas.[6] At that time, the Fourth Circuit had four judicial vacancies, one of which was a seat generally thought to belong to Virginia, and all five candidates were among a larger group of individuals who had proactively submitted their information to the VBA and ostensibly hoped to be considered for a nomination to the Fourth Circuit by President Barack Obama.
On February 26, 2009, the Virginia State Bar separately deemed Millett to be "highly qualified" for the vacancy, along with Edwards, Keenan, and attorney Richard A. Simpson.[7] Keenan was nominated by President Obama to fill the vacancy on September 14, 2009, confirmed by the Senate on February 26, 2010 and sworn in on March 9, 2010.
Personal life[edit]
Millett and her husband, Robert King, reside in Alexandria, Virginia.[6] She is active in Aldersgate United Methodist Church and has a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, according to her answers to a questionnaire for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.[29]
Media related to Patricia Millett at Wikimedia Commons