Claria Denise Horn Boom (born 1969) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (in case citations, E.D. Ky.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises approximately the Eastern half of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The United States Cour ...

and

United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (in case citations, W.D. Ky.) is the United States district court, federal district court for the western part of the state of Kentucky. Appeals from the Western District of K ...

. She is a member of the

United States Sentencing Commission The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for articulating the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for the federal courts. The Commission promulgat ...

Education and career

Boom earned her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

and her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as VLS) is the law school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each ...

. She clerked for Judge Pierce Lively of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

. Early in her career she was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

in the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, and before that, practiced at

King & Spalding King & Spalding LLP is an American multinational corporate law firm that is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices located in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It has over 1,300 lawyers in 23 offices globally. It is an A ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Before becoming a judge, she practiced as a partner at Frost Brown Todd in the Lexington office.

Federal judicial service

On June 7, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intent to nominate Boom to serve as a United States District Judge of the

and of the

, to the joint seat vacated by Judge Jennifer B. Coffman, who retired on January 8, 2013. On June 12, 2017, her nomination was sent to the Senate. Boom received a "qualified" rating from the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

. A hearing on her nomination before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

took place on November 15, 2017. On December 7, 2017, her nomination was reported out of committee by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

. On April 9, 2018, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

invoked cloture on her nomination by a 96–2 vote. On April 10, 2018, her nomination was confirmed by a 96–1 vote. She received her commission on April 11, 2018. She maintains chambers in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Kentucky for the Eastern District and

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Kentucky for the Western District.

United States Sentencing Commission

Intent to nominate under Trump

On August 12, 2020, President

announced his intent to nominate Boom to serve as a Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission.

Nomination under Biden

On May 11, 2022, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

announced his intent to nominate Boom to serve as a member of the

. On May 12, 2022, her nomination was sent to the Senate, she has been nominated to fill the position left vacant by Judge William H. Pryor Jr., whose term expired. On June 8, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the

. On July 21, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a voice vote. On August 4, 2022, the

confirmed her nomination by a voice vote. On October 18, 2023, she was renominated by President Biden for an additional term. On October 24, 2023, her renomination was sent to the Senate. On April 18, 2024, her nomination was favorably reported out of committee by a 21–0 vote. Her nomination is pending before the

Personal life

Boom grew up in

Martin County, Kentucky Martin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,287. Its county seat is Inez. The county was founded in 1870 and is named for Congressman John Preston Martin. History Martin C ...

, where her mother served as clerk of the court. In 2013, she married Denny Boom, who is the president of a Lexington construction company.

References

External links

* *
Biography at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boom, Claria Horn 1969 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women judges Assistant United States attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky Kentucky lawyers Members of the United States Sentencing Commission People from Ashland, Kentucky People from Marion County, Kentucky Transylvania University alumni United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump Vanderbilt University Law School alumni