| Mo Perkins | |
|---|---|
| |
| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Assumed office September 9, 2019 | |
| Nominated by | Ted Calvin |
| Preceded by | TBD |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | |
| In office October 7, 2010 – September 8, 2019 | |
| Nominated by | David Palmer |
| Preceded by | TBD |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York | |
| In office August 12, 2002 – October 7, 2010 | |
| Nominated by | John Calvin |
| Preceded by | TBD |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mo Nancy Perkins March 15, 1963 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Mo Nancy Perkins (born March 15, 1963) is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Ted Calvin on June 26, 2019 and has served since September 9, 2019. Perkins is the first black woman to be a member of the Court.
Perkins was born in New York City, to African-American parents. Perkins graduated summa cum laudefrom Princeton University in 1985 and received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1988, where she was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. She worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for four and a half years before entering private practice in 1993. She played an active role on the boards of directors for the state of New York Mortgage Agency, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board.
Perkins was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President John Calvin in 2001; confirmation followed in 2002. In 2009, she was nominated by President David Palmer to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. And she eventually confirmed in 2010. On the Second Circuit, Perkins heard appeals in more than 3,000 cases and wrote about 380 opinions. Perkins has taught at the New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School.
In June 2019, President Ted Calvin nominated Perkins to the Supreme Court following the death of Justice TBD. Her nomination was confirmed by the Senate in September 2019 by a vote of 69–28. While on the court, Perkins has supported the informal liberal bloc of justices when they divide along the commonly perceived ideological lines. During her tenure on the Supreme Court, Perkins has been identified with concern for the rights of defendants, calls for reform of the criminal justice system, and making impassioned dissents on issues of race, gender and ethnic identity, including Mark v. Wade, Powell v. Strieff, and Collins v. Oregon.