President Joe Biden announced Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Morgan Davenport as his nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Davenport was one of three nominees as part of Biden’s 54th round of judicial nominees.
“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,” a White House press release states.
U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich issued a joint statement on Davenport’s nomination.
“Sarah Davenport has built an impressive legal career as a federal prosecutor in New Mexico and strong roots in her home community of Las Cruces,” the senators said in a press release.“ We are grateful to President Biden for moving quickly to fill this vacancy so we can ensure the District of New Mexico has the capacity to serve the people of our state, delivering justice, and upholding the rule of law. We look forward to supporting Ms. Davenport’s nomination and call on our colleagues in the Senate to advance her confirmation expeditiously.”
From 2023: U.S. Senate confirms federal judge for NM
Davenport is currently an AUSA in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico in Las Cruces. She has been an AUSA since 2009.
Prior to that, she was a special assistant U.S. Attorney in Las Cruces from 2008 to 2009 and served as a law clerk in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque from 2006 to 2008.
Davenport received her Bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University in 1998 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006.
If nominated, Davenport would replace Judge William Paul Johnson who announced his retirement in June.
His retirement goes into effect in January 2025.