Bangladesh-origin nominated for US federal bench

President Joe Biden has nominated a Bangladesh-origin American woman to be a judge on a federal court in the United States, as it announced a list of diverse judicial nominees.

Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, is Biden’s nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, reports USA Today.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first Muslim woman to serve as a federal judge.

Nusrat Jahan, who previously worked at the American Civil Liberties Union in New York, would be just the second Muslim American federal judge after the Senate confirmed Zahid Quraishi – another Biden nominee – to the US District Court for the District of New Jersey in June. She emerged as the top choice among Muslim American advocates for one of New York’s federal court vacancies while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer backed her as an expert in civil rights.

Muslim Advocates wrote in a July letter to Schumer and NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that Nusrat has a “stellar reputation” for advancing minority rights.