Obama Picks Out Gay Black Male As Federal Judge

William L. Thomas

President Obama is continuing to make history with his judicial nominations. On Wednesday the White House announced that the President has selected Florida Circuit Court judge William L. Thomas to become a United States district court judge for the Southern District of Florida, the first openly gay, black male to receive such a prestigious nomination.

The first openly gay, Black female judge was nominated by President Bill Clinton way back in 1992. Her name is Deborah Batts and for decades she was the only openly LGBT members of the federal judiciary.

Here's his official biography from the White House announcement:

Judge William L. Thomas:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of FloridaJudge William L. Thomas has served as a Circuit Judge in Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit since 2005, where he has presided over both civil and criminal matters.  For seven years, from 1997 to 2005, he served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Florida, where he represented indigent clients in federal criminal cases.  Judge Thomas began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender at the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office in 1994.  He received his J.D. in 1994 from the Temple University School of Law and his B.A. in 1991 from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.

From his graduation in 1991 one could estimate the judge's age to be about 43 or 42 years old. Congratulations to Judge Thomas! (May his confirmation be quick and unanimous!)

Hat/tip to Chris Geidner.