Anna Manasco of Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday was confirmed 71-21 by the United States Senate to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama.
U.S. Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Doug Jones (D-AL) both voted to support her confirmation.
Manasco was formally nominated for the prestigious federal judgeship by President Donald J. Trump in February. Following her nomination, she appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration and was reported out of the committee with bipartisan support.
“Anna Manasco is immensely qualified to be a U.S. District Judge, and her confirmation by the Senate today is a victory for Alabama and the entire nation,” Shelby said in a statement.
“Her extensive litigation experience, academic accomplishments, and strong commitment to upholding the rule of law as it is written make her the ideal candidate for this role. I am confident she will serve honorably, exhibiting fairness and impartiality,” he concluded.
The confirmation vote came after the Senate earlier in the day on Wednesday invoked cloture on the nomination in a 72-20 vote.
Manasco had been serving as a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Birmingham, where her practice focuses on trial strategy and appeals in complex commercial litigation.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Emory University; her Master of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Oxford; and her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where she served as executive editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review. Manasco has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, numerous federal courts of appeals and the Supreme Court of the State of Alabama.
Before joining her current firm, Manasco served as a law clerk to Judge William H. Pryor, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
In addition to Manasco’s confirmation, the U.S. Senate has confirmed ten of Alabama’s federal judicial nominees since August 2017.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
