Judge Melissa DuBose was confirmed Tuesday as a federal judge for the District of Rhode Island, making her the state’s first Black and first out LGBTQ federal judge, and marking the 100th time a Black woman was confirmed to a lifetime federal judiciary appointment. She and her partner of over 20 years have two sons.
DuBose grew up in the Mount Hope neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, and attended Providence College, per a profile of her by the college. She then taught history full-time at the city’s Central High School while earning her law degree via evening courses at Roger Williams University School of Law. After graduating in 2004, she joined the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office as a special assistant attorney general from 2005 to 2008. She then served as senior legal counsel at Schneider Electric, a multinational energy management company. In 2019, she was confirmed to the Rhode Island District Court after being nominated by Gov. Gina Raimondo (D). President Biden nominated her to the federal bench in January 2024; she had a confirmation hearing in February; and the Senate confirmed her this past Tuesday by a vote of 51 to 47.
Dubose’s partner Amy and their two sons were in the audience during her confirmation hearing. In her remarks there, Dubose thanked Amy “for blessing me with over two decades of unwavering love, support, laughter, and patience.” She also thanked their “two remarkable sons … for gracing me with that special love that is reserved for mothers and sons.” Notably, too, she thanked Amy’s parents for “welcoming me into their family and for being just the most amazing grandparents.”
Rhode Island Senators Jack Reed (D) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D), in a joint statement on her nomination, said, “Judge DuBose is a champion for justice who will strengthen the federal bench. She is highly regarded throughout the Rhode Island legal community and will make an outstanding federal judge.”
Her appointment also marks the 100th time the Senate has confirmed a Black woman to a lifetime position in the federal judiciary, per a statement by Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. (Six Black women have been confirmed multiple times to such positions, and each of their confirmations is included separately in this total, the Leadership Conference notes.) Wiley asserted:
Judge DuBose’s confirmation matters because judicial diversity—both personal and professional—helps to build public trust in courts, improves judicial decision-making, and strengthens our democracy. It matters because Black women and openly LGBTQ people in our nation have long been underrepresented and excluded from service on our federal courts, and yet they come to federal courts to vindicate their rights. It matters because this representation will inspire more Black women and more LGBTQ people to go to law school and seek to serve in such positions. And it matters because having a judiciary staffed with fair-minded and ethical judges is a critically important component of protecting democracy and our hard-won civil rights gains.
Congratulations to Judge DuBose and her family on her historic appointment.
Bonus fun fact: The first out LGBTQ federal judge ever, Deborah Batts, was also a Black lesbian mom.