Confirmed! On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Obama's nomination of attorney Miranda Du to become Nevada's newest U.S. District Court judge: Senate confirms Miranda Du to federal bench.There was a bit of debate over Du's qualifications, but overall she received bipartisan support. With a Senate roll call vote of 59-39, she was confirmed for the lifetime appointment and becomes the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the federal bench in the state:
Born in 1969, Du was 9 when she left Vietnam with her family in 1978. They traveled by boat to Malaysia, where the family lived for a year in refugee camps before coming to the United States.If anyone's keeping score, Miranda Du's confirmation doubles the number of Asian American and Pacific Islander judges since President Obama took office just over three years ago. It's an important milestone. More here: Federal Judges That Resemble the Nation They Serve.
The family first lived in Alabama, where her father worked on a dairy farm. They later moved to California.
"She didn't speak English when she enrolled in an American school for the first time. But even as a third-grader, she was quick to learn and picked up the language right away," Reid said on the Senate floor.
Du received a bachelor's degree in history and economics from the University of California, Davis, and her law degree from UC Berkley. She moved to Nevada shortly after and joined the law firm of McDonald Carano Wilson, where she was made partner in 2002.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said Du will make an "outstanding" judge.