Kai Niambi Scott (born 1970)
is an American attorney who is a
United States district judge of the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She previously served as a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas from 2015 to 2023.
Education
Scott earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree from
Hampton University
Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...
in 1991 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
West Virginia University College of Law in 1995.
Career
From 1996 to 1998, Scott served as a law clerk for the Pennsylvania Bureau of
Workers Compensation
Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
. From 1998 to 2004, she was a
trial attorney
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...
for the
Defender Association of Philadelphia. She served as an assistant
federal public defender from 2004 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, Scott served as the trial unit chief for the Federal Community Defender Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She was elected to the
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas in 2015.
Federal judicial service
On July 12, 2022, President
Joe Biden nominated Scott to serve as a
United States district judge of the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. President Biden nominated Scott to the seat vacated by Judge
C. Darnell Jones II
Cardozie Darnell Jones II (born November 23, 1949) is a Senior status, Senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Education and career
Born in Cl ...
, who assumed
senior status on March 15, 2021. On September 7, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the
Senate Judiciary Committee. On September 28, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–9 vote. On December 7, 2022, the
United States Senate invoked
cloture on her nomination by a 52–42 vote. Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 50–42 vote. She received her judicial commission on January 18, 2023.
See also
*
List of African-American federal judges
*
List of African-American jurists
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Kai
1970 births
Living people
20th-century American women lawyers
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American judges
21st-century American women judges
21st-century American women lawyers
21st-century American lawyers
African-American judges
Hampton University alumni
Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Lawyers from Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Democrats
Pennsylvania lawyers
Public defenders
United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden
West Virginia University College of Law alumni
20th-century African-American lawyers
21st-century African-American lawyers