Arianna Freeman

Third Circuit
	Court of Appeals
Judgeships
	Posts: 14
	Judges: 13
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: Michael Chagares
	Active judges: Stephanos Bibas, Michael Chagares, Cindy Chung, Arianna Freeman, Thomas Hardiman, Kent Jordan, Cheryl Ann Krause, Paul Matey, Tamika Montgomery-Reeves, Peter Phipps, David Porter, Luis Felipe Restrepo, Patty Shwartz; Senior judges:; Thomas Ambro, Robert Cowen, D. Michael Fisher, Julio Fuentes, Theodore McKee, Richard Nygaard, Marjorie Rendell, Jane Roth, Anthony Scirica, David Brooks Smith, Walter Stapleton

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Arianna Freeman
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 253 days after nomination.
	Nominated: January 19, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: March 2, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: April 4, 2022
	Confirmed: September 29, 2022
	Vote: 50-47

Arianna Freeman is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on January 19, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 29, 2022, by a vote of 50-47.^[1]^[2]^[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

On September 13, 2022, the U.S. Senate did not confirm Freeman to the Third Circuit, by a vote of 47-50. Following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) filed a motion to reconsider Freeman's confirmation vote.^[4]

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the Third Circuit, click here.

Prior to her confirmation, Freeman was a managing attorney with the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

Possible Joe Biden nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court

On January 27, 2022, United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer officially announced he would retire at the start of the court's summer recess, which typically took place in late June or early July.^[5]^[6] NBC News had previously reported the retirement on January 26.^[7] On February 15, Biden announced he would nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson.^[8]

President Joe Biden (D) did not announce a list of nominees he was considering. During the retirement announcement, Biden said that: "The person I will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court."^[9]

Freeman was mentioned by two or more media outlets as a possible nominee to fill Breyer's seat on the court.^[10]^[11] Click here to read more about the vacancy and nomination process.

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

Arianna Freeman received commission on October 20, 2022.^[12] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Freeman to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.^[1] She was confirmed by a 50-47 vote of the U.S. Senate on September 29, 2022.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Freeman by a vote of 50-47 on September 29, 2022.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Freeman confirmation vote (September 29, 2022)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	48	0	0
Republican	0	47	3
Independent	2	0	0
Total	50	47	3

Blue slip withheld from home-state senator

See also: Blue slip (federal judicial nominations)

On Jan. 19, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Arianna Freeman to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.^[15]

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) withheld his blue slip, with a spokesperson stating that Toomey "felt that while she has some credentials in a very niche area of the law, she lacks the breadth of experience needed to serve as a federal appellate judge" in reference to her background as a public defender.^[16]

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, defended Freeman's experience. He said, "It takes a special kind of person to dedicate themselves to those who have perhaps committed awful crimes, dedicate themselves to the ideal to everyone — even the poor, even the abused, even the addicted, even those who have done wretched things — deserve representation."^[17]

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Freeman's nomination on March 2, 2022. On April 4, 2022, the committee cast a tie vote to report Freeman to the United States Senate for a confirmation vote. As a result, Freeman was not reported favorably to the full Senate.

On June 22, 2022, the Senate voted to discharge her nomination from the committee in order for her nomination to be considered by the full Senate.^[2]

Nomination

On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Freeman to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.^[1] He officially nominated Freeman on the same day.^[2]

Freeman was nominated to replace Judge Theodore McKee, who assumed senior status upon the confirmation of his successor.^[2]

The American Bar Association rated Freeman Well qualified.^[18] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Bildung

Freeman earned a bachelor's degree with honors from Swarthmore College in 2001. She earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2007.^[1]

Professional career

2022-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
2009-2022: Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2016-2022: Managing attorney
- 2014-2016: Assistant federal defender
- 2009-2014: Research and writing specialist
2008-2009: Law clerk, Judge C. Darnell Jones II, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
2007-2008: Law clerk, Judge James T. Giles, Eastern District of Pennsylvania^[1]

About the court

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Appeals are heard in the James A. Byrne Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It shares a courthouse with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

One judge of the Third Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Samuel Alito was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006 by George W. Bush (R).

Jurisdiction

Map of the Third Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The Third Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Samuel Alito is the circuit justice for the Third Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court in the following federal judicial districts:

It also has appellate jurisdiction over the United States District Court for the U.S. Virgin Islands which, in spite of the name, is a territorial court and belongs to no federal judicial district.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.