President Joe Biden's nomination of Minneapolis attorney Jerry Blackwell to join the federal bench in Minnesota was approved late Wednesday by the U.S. Senate.
Blackwell is the second Minnesota judicial appointment made by the Biden Administration and gained national attention in 2021 as he helped prosecute former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder George Floyd.
The Senate vote was 51-43.
“Jerry Blackwell is one of the most widely respected and accomplished members of the Minnesota legal community. With nearly 35 years of trial practice– including the successful prosecution of the murder of George Floyd – I’m confident he has the qualifications and experience needed to be an excellent U.S. District Court Judge,” Senator Amy Klobuchar said in a statement. “As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I fought to advance his nomination through the Senate, and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of this outstanding nominee.”
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Since 2005 Blackwell has worked as a founding partner of Blackwell Burke P.A. and even agreed to prosecute the Chauvin case for free.
“Jerry Blackwell’s confirmation is an exciting event for Minnesota,” said Senator Tina Smith. “His dedication to equal justice and distinguished record as an attorney and leader in Minnesota’s legal community make him exceptionally well-qualified for this position, and I congratulate him on his confirmation.”
Blackwell is active in the Minnesota legal community as the founder of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers and the Twin Cities Committee on Minority Lawyers in Large Law Firms. He received his B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1984, where he was a Morehead Scholar, and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987.