Kai Niambi Scott (born 1970)[1][2] is an American attorney who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She previously served as a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas from 2015 to 2023.

Kai Scott
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Assumed office
January 18, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byC. Darnell Jones II
Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas
In office
January 2016 – January 18, 2023
Personal details
Born
Kai Niambi Scott

1970 (age 53–54)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHampton University (BA)
West Virginia University (JD)

Education

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Scott earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampton University in 1991 and a Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1995.[3]

Career

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From 1996 to 1998, Scott served as a law clerk for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers Compensation. From 1998 to 2004, she was a trial attorney for the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She served as an assistant federal public defender from 2004 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, Scott served as the trial unit chief for the Federal Community Defender Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She was elected to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in 2015.[4]

Federal judicial service

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On July 12, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Scott to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. President Biden nominated Scott to the seat vacated by Judge C. Darnell Jones II, who assumed senior status on March 15, 2021.[5] On September 7, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[6] On September 28, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–9 vote.[7] On December 7, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–42 vote.[8] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 50–42 vote.[9] She received her judicial commission on January 18, 2023.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Biden nominates five, including former Philly DA, to federal courts in Pa". MSN. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  2. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  3. ^ "President Biden Names Twenty-First Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "2015 Municipal Election - Judge of the Court of Common Pleas - Philadelphia".
  5. ^   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. August 31, 2022.
  7. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – September 29, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  8. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Kai N. Scott to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania)". United States Senate. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Kai N. Scott, of Pennsylvania, to U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania)". United States Senate. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Kai Scott at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
2023–present
Incumbent