Rachel Bloomekatz

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Rachel Bloomekatz

| honorific-suffix =

| image = Rachel Bloomekatz (Judge).jpg

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| office = Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

| term_start = July 20, 2023

| term_end =

| appointer = Joe Biden

| predecessor = R. Guy Cole Jr.

| successor =

| pronunciation =

| birth_name = Rachel Sarah Bloomekatz

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|12|03}}

| birth_place = Southfield, Michigan, U.S.

| death_date =

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| education = Harvard University (BA)
University of California, Los Angeles (JD)

}}

Rachel Sarah Bloomekatz (born December 3, 1982) is an American lawyer from Ohio who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Early life and education

Bloomekatz was born on December 3, 1982,{{Cite web|url=https://vettingroom.org/2022/06/06/rachel-bloomekatz/|title=Rachel Bloomekatz – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit|first=Harsh|last=Voruganti|date=June 6, 2022}} in Southfield, Michigan.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Bloomekatz%20SJQ%20Public%20Final%20for%20OneDrive.pdf|title=Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|accessdate=June 21, 2022}} She received her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 2004 and her Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law in 2008.{{Cite press release |title=President Biden Names Eighteenth Round of Judicial Nominees |date=May 25, 2022 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/25/president-biden-names-eighteenth-round-of-judicial-nominees/ |access-date=May 25, 2022}} {{PD-notice}} While attending UCLA, Bloomekatz was a comments editor on the UCLA Law Review. She interned with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the law firm Hadsell Stormer Rennick & Dai LLP.{{Cite web |title=Rachel S. Bloomekatz Fact Sheet |url=https://www.afj.org/document/rachel-s-bloomekatz-fact-sheet/ |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=AFJ |language=en-US}}

Career

During law school, Bloomekatz was a law clerk to Judge Algenon L. Marbley of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.{{Cite web|url=https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/sherrod-brown-confirmation-rachel-bloomekatz-circuit-judge-court-of-appeals|title=Brown Applauds Confirmation of Rachel Bloomekatz to Serve as U.S. Circuit Judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals|date=July 19, 2023}} After graduation from law school, she served as a law clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2008 to 2009. From 2009 to 2010, she served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She served as an assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General in Boston from 2010 to 2011.

From 2011 to 2012, Bloomekatz served as a law clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States. From 2013 to 2015, she was an associate at Jones Day in Columbus. From 2016 to 2019, she was a principal at Gupta Wessler PLLC. In addition, she has also represented Everytown Law, which is the legal branch of Everytown for Gun Safety and was legal director for Senator Sherrod Brown's 2012 reelection campaign.{{Cite web |last=Alder |first=Madison |date=April 19, 2022 |title=White House Said to Vet Two Women for Sixth Circuit Seat (1) |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/white-house-said-to-vet-two-women-for-sixth-circuit-seat |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en}} From 2019 to 2023, she was a solo practitioner at Bloomekatz Law LLC in Columbus, Ohio. Bloomekatz teaches federal courts at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.{{Cite web |title=Rachel S. Bloomekatz - Practising Law Institute |url=https://www.pli.edu/faculty/rachel-s.-bloomekatz-i1144999 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=www.pli.edu}}

= Notable cases =

In 2014, Bloomekatz authored an amicus brief for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to support victims of human trafficking.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/c078e224-5700-4f4e-93c9-ea1c712c4947/5D0FDAE0247B47ED6738E46637604318.rubio-amicus-brief-final.pdf|title= Cristina Fernandez, Cruz, v. Nilda J. Maypa, Michelle Barba, a/k/a Michelle Maypa, Ferdinand Barba}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/06/gop-senators-target-ohio-judge-candidate-rachel-bloomekatzs-views-on-guns-and-youthful-offenders-at-confirmation-hearing.html|title=GOP Senators target Ohio judge candidate Rachel Bloomekatz's views on guns and youthful offenders at confirmation hearing|date=22 June 2022}}

Following the 2016 primary election, the Sixth Circuit appointed Bloomekatz as amica on appeal to represent the district court's order that the polling locations within the counties of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren be extended for one hour due to Interstate I-275 being closed for hours due to a fatal accident.{{cite web| url=https://casetext.com/case/in-re-2016-primary-election-hamilton-cnty-bd-of-elections-1?q=Rachel%20Bloomekatz&sort=relevance&p=1&type=case&tab=keyword&jxs=|title=In re 2016 Primary Election Hamilton Cnty. Bd. Of Elections, 836 F.3d 584 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator }}{{cite web|url=https://law.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/.2016primary.php|title=.2016primary}}

Bloomekatz represented Brandon Moore in his appeals from his sentence following a conviction by a jury on three counts of aggravated robbery, three counts of rape, three counts of complicity to rape, kidnapping, aggravated menacing, and multiple firearm specifications. Moore committed these crimes when he was 15 years old. Bloomekatz prevailed before the Ohio Supreme Court in challenging his sentence as a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Later, upon appointment by the Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals, she appealed from a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judgment requiring him to report annually for a period of 15 years after the trial court classified him as a sexually oriented offender because, as the prosecutor agreed, the wrong law was applied.{{cite web|url=https://casetext.com/case/state-v-moore-102993?q=Rachel%20Bloomekatz&sort=relevance&p=1&type=case&tab=keyword&jxs=|title=State v. Moore, 2020 Ohio 4725 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator}}{{cite web| url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/04/teen-rapist-given-112-year/23980964007/|title=Teen rapist given 112-year sentence appeals to Ohio Supreme Court}}

= Federal judicial service =

In April 2022, Bloomekatz was one of two women being considered for nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the other being former Solicitor General of Ohio Alexandra Schimmer.

On May 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Bloomekatz to serve as a United States circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit. President Biden nominated Bloomekatz to the seat to be vacated by Judge R. Guy Cole Jr., who announced his intent to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor.{{Cite press release|title=Nominations Sent to the Senate|date=May 25, 2022|publisher=The White House|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/25/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-69/}} {{PD-notice}} A hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 22, 2022.{{Cite web|title=Nominations|date=June 22, 2022|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/06/22/2022/nominations}} During her confirmation hearing, Republican senators questioned her over her support of gun control and the pro bono work that she was involved with during her tenure at Jones Day.{{Cite news|date=June 22, 2022|last=Raymond|first=Nate|title=GOP senators question Biden appellate court pick on gun rights|url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/gop-senators-question-biden-appellate-court-pick-gun-rights-2022-06-22/|website=Reuters|access-date=May 18, 2023|language=en}}{{cite news|date=June 22, 2022|last=Wagner|first=Rose|title=Gun control work by 6th Circuit pick draws GOP shelling|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/gun-control-work-by-6th-circuit-pick-draws-gop-shelling/|website=Courthouse News|language=en}} On August 4, 2022, the committee failed to report her nomination by a 10–10–2 vote.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/EBM%20Results%20-%202022-08-04.pdf|title= Results of Executive Business Meeting – August 4, 2022|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|accessdate=August 4, 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/sixth-circuit-nominee-deadlocks-in-judiciary-committee-vote|title=Sixth Circuit Nominee Deadlocks in Judiciary Committee Vote|newspaper=Bloomberg Law|date=August 4, 2022|last1=Alder|first1=Madison}} On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate; she was renominated later the same day.{{Cite press release |title=Nominations Sent to the Senate |date=January 3, 2023 |publisher=The White House |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/03/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-91/}}

On February 9, 2023, her nomination was favorably reported by the committee by an 11–10 vote.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2023-02-09%20-%20EBM%20-%20Results.pdf|title=Results of Executive Business Meeting – February 9, 2023|publisher=United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|accessdate=February 9, 2023}}{{Cite news|date=February 9, 2023|last=Eaton|first=Sabrina|title=Senate Judiciary Committee approves Ohio judge nominee Rachel Bloomekatz over GOP objections|url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/02/senate-judiciary-committee-approves-ohio-judge-nominee-rachel-bloomekatz-over-gop-objections.html|website=cleveland.com|access-date=May 18, 2023|language=en}} On July 13, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 50–45 vote, with Senator Joe Manchin voting against the motion to invoke cloture on her nomination.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1181/vote_118_1_00186.htm|title=On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Rachel Bloomekatz to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit)|website=United States Senate|date=July 13, 2023|access-date=July 13, 2023}} On July 18, 2023, her nomination was confirmed by a 50–48 vote, with Senator Joe Manchin voting against her confirmation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1181/vote_118_1_00187.htm|title=On the Nomination (Confirmation: Rachel Bloomekatz, of Ohio, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit)|website=United States Senate|date=July 18, 2023|access-date=July 18, 2023}}{{Cite news|last=Eaton|first=Sabrina|title=U.S. Senate confirms Ohio's Rachel Bloomekatz as federal circuit judge|url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/07/us-senate-confirms-rachel-bloomekatz-as-federal-circuit-judge.html?outputType=amp|website=cleveland.com|access-date=July 18, 2023|language=en}} She received her judicial commission on July 20, 2023.{{FJC Bio|nid=13760736|inline=yes}}