FOLLOW US

President Joe Biden has introduced four new judicial nominees, including North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Y. Park for the Fourth Circuit.

Nominees and Their Backgrounds

Ryan Y. Park - Fourth Circuit
Ryan Y. Park, the current solicitor general of North Carolina, has been nominated for the Fourth Circuit. Park has held the solicitor general position since 2020 and previously served as the deputy solicitor general. His past roles include being an associate at Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP and an attorney in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. He has clerked for Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David H. Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the Second Circuit and Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York. Park earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Byron B. Conway - Eastern District of Wisconsin
Byron B. Conway, an attorney at Habush Habush & Rottier SC, has been nominated for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Conway has been with the firm since 2006 and became a shareholder in 2010. He previously worked as an associate at Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown LLP. Conway graduated from Marquette University Law School and was recommended by a bipartisan commission established by Wisconsin's U.S. senators, Republican Ron Johnson and Democrat Tammy Baldwin.

Jonathan E. Hawley - Central District of Illinois
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley has been nominated for the Central District of Illinois. Hawley has been a magistrate judge since 2014, following his tenure as the chief federal public defender for the district. He clerked for Justice James D. Heiple on the Illinois Supreme Court and Judge Michael P. McCuskey of the Central District of Illinois. Hawley earned his law degree from DePaul University College of Law.

Gail A. Weilheimer - Eastern District of Pennsylvania
State Judge Gail A. Weilheimer has been nominated for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She has served on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas since 2014 and has previously been a senior counsel at Wisler Pearlstine LLP, a litigation associate at Frank & Rosen LLP, and an elected commissioner for Abington Township, Pennsylvania. Weilheimer is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law.

Reactions and Statements

The nomination of NC Solicitor General Ryan Y. Park has met resistance from North Carolina senators, both Republicans. Senators Tedd Budd and Thom Tillis expressed their opposition, stating the nominee is a "non-starter" and noted that the White House has been informed that Park does not have their votes. They hope to work with the White House to find an acceptable nominee.