The appointment of Memphis lawyer Andre B. Mathis to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals remains stalled, awaiting a floor vote by the Senate.

Mathis, a partner at local law firm Butler Snow, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 10. Since then, his nomination has stalled. He is one of 17 judicial nominees of President Joe Biden awaiting a floor vote. 

If confirmed, Mathis would replace fellow Memphian Bernice Donald, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2010 and plans to take senior status.

Service to community is central to Sixth Circuit nominee

The appointment of Mathis, the first Black man from Tennessee and second Black person from Tennessee behind Donald on the Sixth Circuit bench, would not change the balance of the circuit, which remains dominated by Republican-appointed judges and covers Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.

Mathis, who attended the University of Memphis’ Cecil C. Humphreys law school and has worked in government litigation and criminal defense, has drawn mixed reviews from Tennessee’s elected representatives.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn has complained that Biden did not properly consult the state’s senators on the nomination, something presidents often do.

Blackburn drew criticism this year for criticizing Mathis’s decade-old failure to appear in court following traffic violations. She called it “a rap sheet with a laundry list of citations,” a description which NAACP President Derrick Johnson said was “outrageous and offensive.”

Mathis has won support from Memphis Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who mentioned him at an event Monday honoring a newly-rechristened federal building.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, which is responsible for setting the tempo of the body’s floor votes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the timing of Mathis’s confirmation.