BIDEN NOMINATES MARYLAND LAWYER TO FEDERAL APPEALS BENCH

President Biden is nominating Maryland attorney Nicole Berner to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District.  Berner is currently general counsel of the Service Employees International Union and would become the first openly LGBTQ Fourth Circuit judge.  Maryland Senator Ben Cardin says Berner indicated, if confirmed, she would have her judicial chambers in the Baltimore Courthouse.  The court is based in Richmond, Virginia and hears appeals from nine federal district courts, including Maryland.