Biden Taps Mississippi Judge As U.S. Sentencing Commission's First Black Chair

A Mississippi federal judge could soon become the first Black chair of the United States Sentencing Commission after President Joe Biden announced a slate of nominees on Wednesday. The president nominated U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the Southern District of Mississippi to lead the bipartisan agency, which Congress created in 1984.

“The Commission was created to reduce sentencing disparities and promote transparency and proportionality in criminal sentencing,” Biden said in a statement yesterday. “The Commission has lacked a quorum since 2019, which has prevented it from doing critical business.

“Today, President Biden is pleased to announce the nominations of these individuals—a bipartisan slate including the first Black chair of the organization—whose confirmations would allow the Commission to conduct its important work.”

If confirmed to the commission, Reeves would be its eighth chair, but would also continue in his role as a federal judge in Jackson. He has served as a judge for the Southern District of Mississippi since 2010, when then-President Barack Obama appointed him.

Read more: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/23690/biden-taps-mississippi-judge-as-u-s-sentencing-commissions-first-black-chair