Padilla Speaks to Support Confirmations of Justice Gabriel Sanchez and Judge Holly Thomas to the Ninth Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor this month in support of the confirmations of Judge Holly Thomas and Justice Gabriel Sanchez, both nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On Jan. 12, Justice Sanchez was confirmed by a vote of 52-47. On Jan. 20, Judge Thomas was confirmed by a vote of 48-40.

Justice Gabriel Sanchez was born and raised in Los Angeles, and is the proud son of a single mother from Mexico. He earned degrees from Yale College, Cambridge University, and Yale Law School. You can watch Sen. Padilla’s remarks HERE.

Judge Holly Thomas is a San Diego native and a graduate of Yale Law School who spent over ten years working on civil rights litigation and appeals. As the granddaughter of sharecroppers, she is a passionate fighter for equal justice. She is the first Black woman from California to serve as a judge on the Ninth Circuit. You can watch Sen. Padilla’s remarks HERE.    

Within weeks of being sworn in to the Senate, Sen. Padilla established a Judicial Evaluation Commission that is approximately 70% attorneys of color and a majority women to evaluate candidates for federal judicial vacancies in California. Sen. Padilla worked closely with the Biden administration to advise on and support the nominations of Judge Thomas and Justice Sanchez to the Ninth Circuit.