US President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American Shalina D Kumar as a federal judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, according to the White House. She will be the first South Asian-origin judge in Michigan. In 2018, the Michigan Supreme Court appointed Shalina as Chief Justice of the Circuit Court.
According to a press release issued on Wednesday, "Nominated by Biden to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Chief Judge Shalina D Kumar has served on the Oakland County Sixth Circuit Court since 2007. She was appointed Chief Judge of the Circuit Court by the Michigan Supreme Court in January of 2018."
The White House said that Shalina had experience in both civil and criminal cases while serving as Chief Justice. Apart from this, she has held many other important positions. Shalina graduated from the University of Michigan in 1993 and attended the University of Detroit-Mercy School of LA in 1996. Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Shalina to be a judge of the Sixth Circuit Court in Oakland County on August 20, 2007, to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Judge Gene Schnelz. After this, Shalina was elected to the court in 2008 and then in 2014 she was again elected to the post of judge.
Prior to taking the bench, Kumar was a civil litigator in private practice from 1997 to 2007, including as an associate with Weiner & Cox PLC from 2004 to 2007 and Sommers, Schwartz, Silver & Schwartz PC from 2000 to 2004. In addition to her chief judge duties, Judge Shalina D Kumar retains a full caseload covering both civil and criminal matters
