Myra Consetta Selby (born July 1, 1955) is an

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

attorney in private practice and is a former nominee to be a

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, courts in the following United Stat ...

. Her nomination was denied a hearing by the Republican-majority Senate and subsequently expired on January 3, 2017. She served as an associate justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

from 1995 to 1999.

Biography

Selby was born on July 1, 1955, in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

. She received a

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 in 1977 from

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...

. She received a

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 ...

in 1980 from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

. From 1980 to 1983, she practiced at the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, office of the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Seyfarth Shaw Seyfarth Shaw LLP ( ) is an international AmLaw 100 law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in Chicago in 1945 by Henry Seyfarth, Lee Shaw, and Owen Fairweather, Seyfarth Shaw originally focused on the area of labor and employment ...

. In 1983, she joined the

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, law firm of Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan (now Ice Miller), as an associate in the health care group from 1983 to 1988 and the first African-American partner from 1988 to 1993. From 1993 to 1994, she served as the Director of Health Care Policy for the State of Indiana under

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Evan Bayh Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Indiana, 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997 and as a United States Senate, United States senator representing Indi ...

. As Director of Health Care Policy, she was responsible for policy development and the execution of state health care programs. In 1995, she was appointed to the

, where she served as both the first African American and first woman appointed to the highest state court in Indiana. During her time on the court, she authored more than 100 majority opinions, including landmark decisions regarding tort law reform and medical malpractice claims. In 1999, she retired from the bench and returned to private practice as a partner at Ice Miller. Upon her departure from the bench in 1999, the Indiana Supreme Court asked her to chair the newly formed Commission on Race and Gender Fairness. She continues to chair the commission, where she leads the commission's efforts to study and make recommendations on increasing gender and racial fairness in the legal system. Her private practice is primarily commercial litigation with an emphasis in health care.

Expired nomination to court of appeals

On January 12, 2016,

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

nominated Selby to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, to the seat vacated by Judge

John Daniel Tinder John Daniel Tinder (born February 17, 1950) is a retired United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Background Born in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 17, 1950, Tinder attended Brebeuf Jesuit P ...

, who took senior status on February 18, 2015. The Republican-majority Senate refused to hold a hearing on her nomination, which then expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the

114th Congress The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from Ja ...

. This seat was filled by

Amy Coney Barrett Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2020 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The fifth wom ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selby, Myra Consetta Living people 1955 births African-American judges American women lawyers Indiana lawyers Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court Kalamazoo College alumni Politicians from Bay City, Michigan University of Michigan Law School alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women judges 20th-century Indiana state court judges

Biography

Expired nomination to court of appeals

See also

References