President Biden nominee, Hope native Judge Doris Pryor, approved by U.S. Senate to U.S. Court of Appeals in Indiana

December 19-25, 2022

By The Daily Record Staff

Arkansas native U.S. Judge Doris Pryor, President Joe Biden’s judicial nominee to fill a current position on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, was confirmed on Dec. 5 by the U.S. Senate as the first judge of color to ever serve on the federal bench in Indiana. 

The full Senate approved the nomination of the Hope native by a vote of 60-31. Arkansas Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman were among the “nay” votes for the Arkansas native’s nomination despite strong bipartisan support from 13 Republican senators in the upper chamber. Nine senators, including five Democrats, did not cast a vote.

President Biden on May 25 nominated Judge Pryor for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for the Southern District of Indiana. Sen. Todd Young, a Republican senator from Indiana, introduced Judge Pryor during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on July 13. She was the first of President Biden’s circuit court picks to get “blue slip” approval from her two Republican home-state senators.

On August, Judge Pryor’s nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–9 vote. On Dec. 1, the U.S. Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 62–31 vote. Since the maintained control of the U.S. Senate after the Nov. 8 election, President Biden has said that appointing and approving a strong slate of judicial nominees to the nation’s circuit and federal courts was a priority over the next two years. He also promised during his 2020 presidential campaign to bring more diversity to the nation’s federal courts.

“These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds,” said Biden. “For example, if confirmed, Judge Doris Pryor would be the  first judge of color to ever serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from Indiana.”

With Judge Pryor’s nomination, this is Biden’s eighteenth round of nominees for federal judicial positions and his fifth slate of nominations in 2022, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 98.

Judge Pryor was born in Hope, Arkansas in 1977 to parents James and Linda Clark. She is also the niece of Daily Record Publisher Wesley Brown. She has a family history of public service, as her mother is a longtime educator and school counselor for Hope Public Schools and her grandmother, Doris Brown, is a Justice of the Peace on Hempstead County Quorum Court.

Judge Pryor was an honor student in her time at Hope High School in the early 1990s and returns to Hope regularly to stay connected to her roots. She earned her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the University of Central Arkansas in 1999, then obtained her law degree from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2003. During law school, Judge Pryor was a member of the editorial staff of the Federal Communications Journal and won top oralist at the Sherman Minton Moot Court Competition. 

Following law school, Judge Pryor served as a law clerk for two federal judges in Arkansas: Chief Judge Lavenski R. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 2003 to 2004 and Judge J. Leon Holmes of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas from 2004 to 2005. Both judges were appointed by President George W. Bush. 

From 2005 to 2006, Judge Pryor was a Deputy Public Defender in the State of Arkansas Public Defender’s Commission, playing a crucial role in protecting the constitutional and civil rights of criminal defendants who could not afford an attorney. She handled an average of 75 cases at a time, including criminal cases, juvenile cases, and cases involving mental health guardianships. If confirmed to the Seventh Circuit, Judge Pryor would be just the second former public defender on the court. 

In addition to her public defense experience, Judge Pryor spent 12 years as a federal prosecutor, providing her with a diverse and varied perspective. In 2006, she joined the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. After eight years, she became the District’s National Security Chief, where she prosecuted individuals threatening the country’s national security. 

Judge Pryor worked closely with the DOJ National Security Division and several DOJ components on domestic terrorism, international terrorism, counterespionage, and terrorism financing matters. For example, in United States v. Musleh, Judge Pryor was part of the team that prosecuted a United States citizen for attempting to provide material support and resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations. She served as lead counsel, managing pre-trial discovery and written work products, while also appearing in court on behalf of the U.S. government. Judge Pryor’s experiences as a public defender and federal prosecutor provided her with substantial federal court and appellate experience. She tried eight cases to verdict, including seven in federal court, and briefed and argued seven federal appeals. 

In November 2017, Judge Pryor was selected to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana. Her appointment enjoyed support from the then presiding Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson. Judge Pryor has served in this capacity since March 1, 2018.  

As a U.S. Magistrate Judge for more than four years, Judge Pryor has presided over a wide array of cases and hundreds of settlement matters. Out of the hundreds of reports and recommendations she has issued, a district court judge has only sustained an objection on two occasions. 

Judge Pryor is married to Johnny Pryor, an attorney and program director in the education division at the Lilly Endowment, the private philanthropic foundation in Indianapolis created in 1937 by J. K. Lilly and his sons, Eli and J.K. Jr.  An Ohio native, Pryor is a graduate of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington. The Pryor’s have one son, John, who is eight years old.  

Photo Caption:

U.S. District Judge Doris Pryor was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Indiana. Judge Pryor, a Hope native and University of Central Arkansas graduate, is the first Black judge from Indiana to join the 7th Circuit bench. She was nominated by President Joe Biden to the post in late May.