Shaw-Wilder PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LAW FIRM OF KOZYAK TROPIN AND THROCKMORTON

MIiami- Coral Gables attorney Detra Shaw-Wilder was among seven jurists nominated by President Biden to serve as a federal judge.

Her nomination comes after she was overlooked during the previous round of nominations last year that prompted criticism from Miami U.S. Congresswoman and Biden’s staunch supporter Frederica Wilson.

Other Black leaders also expressed disappointment that ShawWilder and other Black females weren’t nominated to the federal courts in the Southern District of Florida in Miami to fill the vacancy of Federal Judge Marcia Cooke following her death from cancer in 2023.

They said since Cooke was the first and only Black woman appointed as a federal judge to Florida’s Southern District court, Biden should have nominated a Black woman to serve in her seat.

Biden apparently got the message this time which also reflected his campaign promise to ensure the nation’s courts reflect the diversity throughout the nation.

Shaw-Wilder, a Florida native who grew up in Miami Gardens, was nominated to serve on the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she will become the only Black female federal judge in South Florida.

“The White House recognizes the importance of nominating a highlyqualified, Black woman to the Southern District of Florida,” the White House said in a statement.

Shaw-Wilder has been an attorney in private law firm practice at Coral Gables-based Kozyak Tropin and Throckmorton since 1994, rising from associate to partner.

She also has been serving as general counsel for the firm since 2017.

Shaw-Wilder earned her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1994 and her B.S. from the University of Florida in 1990.

She and the commercial law firm were involved in securing a settlement for the families of victims killed in the Surfside condo building collapse in June 2021.

Shaw-Wilder’s law partners said she’s the perfect candidate for the federal judgeship.

“KTT is proud of our partner and friend Detra Shaw-Wilder and looks forward to her confirmation. While we will miss her, we know that she will be an outstanding judge,” KTT managing partner Jorge Piedra told the South Florida Times.

Wilson, who advocated for a Black woman to succeed Cooke, said she’s overjoyed over Shaw-Wilder’s nomination which was Cooke’s request following her cancer diagnosis.

“Today, I stand with immense pride, not solely as a member of Congress witnessing a constituent’s remarkable journey, but also as a Black woman, deeply touched on a personal level,” Wilson said.

Over two years ago, the late U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Cooke asked me to advocate for the nomination of a Black woman to succeed her as she contemplated her legacy following a cancer diagnosis. Her passing, exactly one year later, filled her words with the weight of a final plea, a resounding call to action to embrace diversity.”

Wilson said Shaw-Detra embodies the qualities essential to judicial excellence: integrity, legal acumen, and unwavering intellectual rigor. Her nomination marks the realization of Judge Cooke’s vision and reinforces our collective commitment to diversity on the bench. “Shaw-Detra embodies the qualities Former Federal Judge for the Southern District of Florida, Marcia Cooke. essential to judicial excellence: integrity, legal acumen, and unwavering intellectual rigor. Her nomination marks the realization of Judge Cooke’s vision and reinforces our collective commitment to diversity on the bench,” Wilson said.

Last month, the U.S. Senate confirmed four jurists, three were locals, to serve on the federal bench in the Southern District of Florida, all nominated by Biden last year but Black women candidates were left out.

Biden only picked one Black woman, U.S. Magistrate Judge Julie S. Sneed, to serve on the federal bench in Tampa.

After several delays, her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 4, 2024.

During his first term in political office, Biden has nominated 229 jurists to federal judicial positions.

According to PBS News, about 74 percent of his nominees to the federal courts were women, 46 percent of them Black.

But his biggest nomination was U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was raised in Miami, and became the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court in 2022.