Return to Bio Index

A - D

Artau, Edward L.
   Southern District of Florida. Nominated 6/16/25. 
   Confirmed 9/8/25. 

Edward Artau currently serves as a state appeals court judge in Palm Beach County, Fla., a position he has held since 2020. Previously, he held the position of circuit court judge between 2014 and 2020, and as general counsel to the South Florida Water Management District. Earlier in his career, Judge Artau was an Assistant Public Defender and later a Senior Assistant Attorney General in Florida’s Office of the Attorney General.

Judge Artau received his J.D., with honors, from Georgetown University Law Center in 1993 and his B.A., with high honors, from Florida Atlantic University in 1990.

Benton, Megan Blair
   Western District of Missouri. Nominated 12/1/25.
   Confirmed 2/4/26.

Megan Blair Benton has served as a circuit judge on Missouri's Sixth Judicial Circuit, based in Platte County, since 2023, where she presides over civil, probate, and criminal matters. She previously served as an associate circuit judge on the same court from 2021 to 2023. Before taking the bench, Judge Benton worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Platte County Prosecutor's Office from 2019 to 2021 and from 2014 to 2017. From 2012 to 2014, she was an associate attorney at Kuhlman & Lucas (now The Kuhlman Law Firm) in Kansas City, Missouri. Judge Benton clerked for Judges Ralph W. Dau and Barbara M. Scheper of the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2011 to 2012.

Judge. Benton earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2010. She received her M.A. and B.A., both in political science, from Emory University in 2007, and studied at Lincoln University in 2004.

Bragdon, David A.
   Middle District of North Carolina. Nominated 9/15/25.
   Confirmed 12/2/25.

David A. Bragdon is currently the Appellate Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, a post he has held since 2021; he has served there as an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 2007. Before that, he worked as Resident Legal Advisor in the DOJ’s Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance & Training program (2017-2020), and in private practice. Mr. Bragdon clerked for Judge Stephen Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. He also has taught as an adjunct professor at Campbell University School of Law.

Mr. Bragdon holds a B.A. in Government from Campbell University (1999) where he graduated summa cum laude, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law (2002).

Bluestone, Zachary M. 
   Eastern District of Missouri, Nominated 5/12/25. 
   Confirmed 7/23/25.

Zachary Bluestone currently serves as the Appellate Chief and a violent crimes prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Prior to this role, he was Deputy Solicitor General in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Mr. Bluestone clerked for Judge Raymond W. Gruender on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Mr. Bluestone graduated from Harvard Law School in 2016, where he was Managing Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He also holds a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from the University of Oxford.

Bove, Emil J. III
   Third Circuit. Nominated 6/16/25.
   Confirmed 7/29/25.

Emil Bove was a partner in the law firm of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi before being appointed acting deputy attorney general in March 2025. Previously, Bove served as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell prior to his becoming an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2012. In October 2919, he was appointed co-chair of the office's terrorism and international narcotics unit. He clerked for judges Richard J. Sullivan (Southern District of New York) and Richard C. Wesley (2^nd Circuit Court of Appeals).

Mr. Bove studied public policy and economics at the University at Albany, SUNY, and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 2008.

Chamberlin, Robert P.
   Northern District of Mississippi, Nominated 9/2/25.
   Confirmed 12/9/25.

Justice Robert P. Chamberlin is currently an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Mississippi, a seat he has held since January 3, 2017, following election in November 2016. Prior to that, he served as a Circuit Judge for Mississippi’s 17th Judicial District (covering DeSoto, Tate, Panola, Tallahatchie, and Yalobusha counties), an office to which he was appointed on November 24, 2004, by Governor Haley Barbour. Before joining the bench, he served in the Mississippi State Senate (2000–2004) and earlier worked as a municipal prosecutor in Horn Lake and a municipal judge in Hernando.

Justice Chamberlin earned both his Bachelor of Arts (1987) and Juris Doctor (1990) from the University of Mississippi.

Clarke, Sheria Akins
   District of South Carolina. Nominated 3/2/26.

Sheria Akins Clarke is currently a partner at Nelson Mullins in Greenville, S.C., where her practice focuses on civil litigation and government investigations. Before joining the firm, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of South Carolina from 2021 to 2024, handling False Claims Act litigation, whistleblower investigations, and criminal matters. From 2009 to 2019, Ms. Clarke held several roles on Capitol Hill, including as investigative counsel to the House Ethics Committee, counsel on the House Select Committee on the Events in Benghazi, and staff director and chief counsel of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She also teaches government at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.

Ms. Clarke earned her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and her B.A. in psychology from Liberty University.

Crain, William J.
   Eastern District of Louisiana. Nominated 10/21/25.
   Confirmed 12/9/25.

William Crain currently serves as an Associate Justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court, a position he has held since December 2019. Prior to his election to the state’s highest court, he served as a judge on the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal from 2013 to 2019.  Before that, he was a judge of the 22nd Judicial District Court from 2009 to 2013.  Earlier in his career, he spent more than two decades in private practice, having litigated state and federal cases at the Jones Fussell law firm in Covington, La.

Mr. Crain received his J.D. degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1986 and his undergraduate degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University in 1983.

Davis, Andrew B.
   Western District of Texas. Nominated 1/29/26.

Andrew Davis is currently a partner at Lehotsky Keller Cohn in Austin, Texas, where he focuses on trial and appellate litigation. Before joining the firm, Mr. Davis served as Chief Counsel to Senator Ted Cruz on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to that, he served as an Assistant Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, where he defended Texas and its agencies in appeals and challenged local ordinances. Earlier, Mr. Davis was a trial and appellate litigator at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C., representing clients across different industry sectors. Mr. Davis clerked for Judge Reena Raggi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Sidney Fitzwater on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Mr. Davis earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2012 and his B.A. from Rice University in 2008.

Divine, Joshua M.
   Eastern District of Missouri, Nominated 5/12/25.
   Confirmed 7/22/25.

Joshua Devine has been the Solicitor General of Missouri since January 2023. Previously, he served as Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley and practiced law at Husch Blackwell and at Ford, Parshall & Baker. Mr. Devine clerked for Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and for Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Devine earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and his B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Northern Colorado.

Dudek, Kyle Christopher
   Middle District of Florida. Nominated 6/16/25.
   Confirmed 9/9/25.

Kyle Christopher Dudek has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Florida since 2022. He previously worked at the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Florida and was an associate at Roetzel & Andress. Judge Dudek began his legal career as a clerk to Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Judge Dudek earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 2007 and his J.D. from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in 2010.

Dunlap, Joshua D.
   First Circuit. Nominated 7/16/25.
   Confirmed 11/4/25.

Joshua Dunlap is a partner at Pierce Atwood LLP in Portland, Maine, where he co-chairs the firm’s Appellate & Amici team. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation and appellate advocacy, and he has represented clients before the First, Fourth, and Tenth Circuits as well as the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Mr. Dunlap has defended businesses in cases involving consumer protection, data privacy, and constitutional law. He has also worked with Special Masters appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court in original jurisdiction matters. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Mr. Dunlap earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2008, where he graduated first in his class and served as Note Editor of the Notre Dame Law Review. He received a B.A., summa cum laude, from Pensacola Christian College in 2005.

Return to Top

→Return to Bio Index       →Return to Home Page