U.S. Senate confirms first out lesbian to federal bench in Michigan

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate this week voted to confirm Judith Levy as a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Levy, 55, becomes the first openly lesbian federal judge in Michigan; she was confirmed by a unanimous vote of 97-0 on Wednesday.

Levy has been an assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit since 2000 and serves as the chief of its civil rights unit.

Earlier in the day, Staci Michelle Yandle, nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois, sailed through her confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee without opposition from panel members.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Yandle — who is currently in private practice — would be the first African-American and first openly LGBT judge to serve in the 7th Circuit, covering Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. LGBTQNation