Doris Pryor

Doris L. Pryor is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on May 25, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 5, 2022, by a vote of 60-31.^[1][2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the 7th Circuit, click here.

Prior to her confirmation, Pryor was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. She joined the court on March 1, 2018.^[3]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (2022-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On May 25, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pryor to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She was confirmed by a 60-31 vote of the U.S. Senate on December 5, 2022. Pryor received her judicial commission on December 9, 2022.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Doris Pryor
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 194 days after nomination.
ANominated: May 25, 2022
AABA Rating: Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
AHearing: July 13, 2022
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: August 4, 2022
AConfirmed: December 5, 2022
AVote: 60-31

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Pryor by a vote of 60-31 on December 5, 2022.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Pryor confirmation vote (December 5, 2022)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	43	0	5
Republican	15	31	4
Independent	2	0	0
Total	60	31	9

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Pryor's nomination on July 13, 2022. The committee voted to advance Pryor's nomination to the full Senate on August 4, 2022.^[1]

Nomination

On May 25, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Pryor to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.^[2]

Pryor was nominated to replace Judge David Hamilton, who assumed senior status upon Pryor's confirmation.^[2]

The American Bar Association rated Pryor qualified.^[4] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Pryor received her B.S. from the University of Central Arkansas in 1999 and her J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2003.^[2]

Professional career

• 2022-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
• 2018-2022: U.S. magistrate judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
• 2006-2018: Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana
  • 2014-2018: National security chief
• 2005-2006: Deputy public defender, State of Arkansas Public Defender’s Commission
• 2004-2005: Law clerk to Judge J. Leon Holmes, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
• 2003-2004: Law clerk to Chief Judge Lavenski Smith, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit^[2]

About the court

Seventh Circuit
Court of Appeals
Judgeships
Posts: 11
Judges: 11
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Diane Sykes
Active judges: Michael B. Brennan, Frank Easterbrook, Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Thomas L. Kirsch II, Joshua Kolar, John Z. Lee, Doris Pryor, Ilana Rovner, Michael Scudder, Amy St. Eve, Diane Sykes Senior judges: William Bauer, Joel Flaum, David Hamilton, Daniel Manion, Kenneth Ripple, Diane Wood

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Appeals are heard in the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago.

Three judges of the Seventh Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Sherman Minton was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1949 by Harry Truman (D), John Paul Stevens was appointed in 1975 by Gerald Ford (R), and Amy Coney Barrett was appointed in 2020 by Donald Trump (R).

The Seventh Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Seventh Circuit are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Amy Coney Barrett is the circuit justice for the Seventh Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:

• Central District of Illinois
• Northern District of Illinois
• Southern District of Illinois
• Northern District of Indiana
• Southern District of Indiana
• Eastern District of Wisconsin
• Western District of Wisconsin

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

See also

• United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
• United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Active judges	Chief Judge: Diane Sykes   •  Amy St. Eve  •  Frank Easterbrook  •  Ilana Rovner  •  John Z. Lee (United States Court of Appeals judge)  •  Michael B. Brennan (Wisconsin)  •  Michael Scudder  •  Joshua Kolar  •  Doris Pryor  •  Thomas Kirsch  •  Candace Jackson-Akiwumi
Senior judges	Diane Wood  •  Joel Flaum  •  Daniel Manion  •  David Hamilton (Seventh Circuit)  •  Kenneth Ripple  •  William Bauer  •
Former judges	John Paul Stevens  •  Ann Williams (Federal judge)  •  Julian William Mack  •  Terence Evans  •  Michael Kanne  •  Richard Posner  •  John Coffey (Seventh Circuit)  •  Jesse Eschbach  •  Walter Quintin Gresham  •  Richard Cudahy  •  Thomas Fairchild  •  Philip Tone  •  William Allen Woods  •  James Graham Jenkins (Wisconsin)  •  William Henry Seaman  •  John William Showalter  •  Peter Stenger Grosscup  •  Christian Cecil Kohlsaat  •  Albert Barnes Anderson  •  Francis Elisha Baker  •  Samuel Alschuler  •  Evan Alfred Evans  •  Louis FitzHenry  •  George True Page  •  Walter Lindley  •  William Morris Sparks  •  James Earl Major  •  Walter Treanor  •  Francis Duffy  •  Otto Kerner, Sr.  •  Otto Kerner, Jr.  •  Harlington Wood  •  Winfred Knoch  •  William Parkinson (Indiana)  •  Luther Swygert  •  Sherman Minton  •  Latham Castle  •  Walter Cummings  •  Philip Finnegan  •  John Hastings  •  Roger Kiley  •  Wilbur Pell  •  Elmer Schnackenberg  •  Robert Sprecher  •  Hardress Swaim  •  Amy Coney Barrett  •
Former Chief judges	Diane Wood  •  Joel Flaum  •  Richard Posner  •  William Bauer  •  Thomas Fairchild  •  William Morris Sparks  •  James Earl Major  •  Francis Duffy  •  Luther Swygert  •  Latham Castle  •  Walter Cummings  •  John Hastings  •

v • e Federal judges nominated to Article III courts by Joe Biden
Commissioned in 2024	John Kazen • John Russell • Margaret Garnett • Cristal Brisco • Jacquelyn Austin • Gretchen Hess Lund • Micah Smith • Joshua Kolar • Karoline Mehalchick • Kirk Sherriff • Lisa Wang • David Leibowitz • Jacqueline Becerra • Julie Sneed • Melissa Damian • Kelly H. Rankin • Nicole Berner • Sunil Harjani • Leon Schydlower • Ernesto Gonzalez • Susan Bazis • Robert White • Ann Marie McIff Allen • Eumi Lee • Krissa Lanham • Eric Schulte • Camela Theeler
Commissioned in 2023	Kai Scott • Tamika Montgomery-Reeves • Margaret R. Guzman • Daniel Calabretta • Matthew Garcia • DeAndrea G. Benjamin • Cindy Chung • Adrienne Nelson • Lindsay Jenkins • Gina Méndez-Miró • Araceli Martínez-Olguín • Jamar Walker • Ana Reyes • Jamal Whitehead • Gordon Gallagher • Matthew Brookman• Maria Araujo Kahn• James Simmons • Robert Ballou• Andrew Schopler • Jonathan Grey• Colleen Lawless • Arun Subramanian • Jessica Clarke • Robert Kirsch • Michael Farbiarz • Anthony Johnstone • Orelia Merchant • Wesley Hsu • Bradley Garcia • LaShonda A. Hunt • Nancy Gbana Abudu • Amanda Brailsford • Darrel Papillion • Jeremy Daniel • Hernan D. Vera • Julie Rikelman • Nusrat Choudhury • P. Casey Pitts • Myong Joun • Kymberly Evanson • Tiffany Cartwright • Rachel Bloomekatz • Natasha Merle • Dale Ho • Philip Hadji • Rita Lin • Brendan Hurson • Vernon D. Oliver • Matthew Maddox • Julia Munley • Brandy McMillion • Susan DeClercq • Julia Kobick • Ramon Reyes, Jr. • Ana de Alba • Kenly Kiya Kato • Mónica Ramírez Almadani • Jeffrey M. Bryan • Jamel Semper • Irma Ramirez • Richard Federico • Loren AliKhan • Brandon Long • Jerry Edwards Jr.• Sara Hill • Joseph Laroski
Commissioned in 2022	David Herrera Urias • Gabriel Sanchez • Holly Thomas • Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong • David Ruiz • Charles Fleming • Bridget Brennan • Leonard Stark • Alison J. Nathan • John Chun • Julie Rubin • Jacqueline Scott Corley • Ruth Bermudez Montenegro • Victoria Calvert • Georgette Castner • Anne Traum • Cristina Silva • Ketanji Brown Jackson (Supreme Court) • Sarah Geraghty • Hector Gonzalez • Fred Slaughter • Jennifer Rochon • Robert Huie • Sunshine S. Sykes • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • Evelyn Padin • Sherilyn P. Garnett • Ana de Alba • J. Michelle Childs • Trina Thompson • Elizabeth Hanes • Nancy Maldonado • Nina Morrison • Gregory Williams • John Z. Lee • Sal Mendoza, Jr. • Lara Montecalvo • Florence Pan • Andre Mathis • Sarah A.L. Merriam • Jennifer Rearden • Roopali Desai • María Antongiorgi-Jordán • Camille Vélez-Rivé • Doris Pryor • Frances Kay Behm • Dana Douglas • Mia Roberts Perez • Anne Nardacci • Jeffery P. Hopkins
Commissioned in 2021	Ketanji Brown Jackson • Zahid Quraishi • Julien Xavier Neals • Deborah Boardman • Regina Rodriguez • Candace Jackson-Akiwumi • Lydia Kay Griggsby • Tiffany Cunningham • Eunice Lee • Angel Kelley • Florence Pan • Veronica Rossman • David G. Estudillo • Sarah A.L. Merriam • Gustavo Gelpí • Christine O'Hearn • Margaret Strickland • Karen McGlashan Williams • Patricia Tolliver Giles • Toby Heytens • Michael Nachmanoff • Sarala Nagala • Beth Robinson • Omar A. Williams • Myrna Pérez • Jia Cobb • Tana Lin • Lauren King • Lucy H. Koh • Jennifer Sung • Samantha Elliott • Katherine Menendez • Mary Dimke • Linda Lopez • Shalina Kumar • Jane Beckering • Jinsook Ohta • Jennifer L. Thurston • Stephen Locher • Charlotte Sweeney • Nina Nin-Yuen Wang • Arianna Freeman • Jerry Blackwell

v • e Federal judges who have served the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
Active judges	Chief Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt   •  Matthew Brookman  •  James Sweeney (Indiana)  •  J.P. Hanlon
Senior judges	Sarah Barker  •  Richard Young (Federal judge)  •  William Lawrence (Indiana)  •  Jane Magnus-Stinson  •
Magistrate judges	Tim Baker  •  Craig McKee  •  Debra McVicker Lynch  •  Mark Dinsmore  •  Van Willis  •  Mario Garcia (Indiana)  •
Former Article III judges	David Hamilton (Seventh Circuit)  •  Larry McKinney  •  John Tinder  •  Robert Baltzell  •  Gene Brooks  •  Samuel Dillin  •  Cale Holder  •  James Noland  •  William Steckler  •
Former Chief judges	David Hamilton (Seventh Circuit)  •  Sarah Barker  •  Larry McKinney  •  Richard Young (Federal judge)  •  Jane Magnus-Stinson  •  Gene Brooks  •  Samuel Dillin  •  James Noland  •  William Steckler  •