President Joe Biden will nominate Idaho Court of Appeals Judge Amanda K. Brailsford to be a federal judge of the U.S. District Court of Idaho, the White House told the Idaho Capital Sun on Wednesday.
Brailsford is one of four nominees announced by the White House and is part of the 28th round of federal judicial nominees during Biden’s first term, a total of 154 judges.
“These choices also continue to fulfill the president’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds,” the White House said in a press release.
Under Idaho law, a midterm vacancy on the Idaho Appeals Court is filled by a nomination from the governor’s office. The governor selects a name from a list of two to four qualified individuals as identified by the Idaho Judicial Council, which is comprised of seven members, including judges and attorneys.
According to the Idaho Supreme Court, Brailsford grew up in Hagerman, Idaho, and received her undergrad and law degrees from the University of Idaho. She was nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019 by then-Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter.
Brailsford was a founding partner at Andersen Banducci PLLC in Boise and prior to that worked as an associate and partner at Holland & Hart LLP for 18 years in civil litigation, primarily working on agriculture issues. She served as a law clerk for Judge Thomas G. Nelson at the Idaho Court of Appeals in the early 1990s.
Brailsford and her husband have been married for more than 20 years and have three children.