Kathryn Kimball Mizelle

Born in Lakeland, Florida, Mizelle earned her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Covenant College in 2009. She earned her Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2012.[3]

Upon graduating from law school, Mizelle served as a law clerk to Judge James S. Moody Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and to Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She worked as a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2014–2017, and was detailed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2014–2015. Mizelle was Counsel to the United States Associate Attorney General from 2017–2018. In 2018, she briefly clerked for Judge Gregory G. Katsas of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then clerked for Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mizelle is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.[4] She has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2012.[2][5]

Before becoming a judge, Mizelle was an associate at Jones Day.[6] There she worked on civil and criminal litigation and appeals.[3][7]

On August 12, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Mizelle to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.[8] At the age of 33, she was the youngest person chosen by Trump for a lifetime judicial appointment.[9][10][11] On September 8, 2020, her nomination was sent to the Senate to fill the seat vacated by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington, who took senior status on July 12, 2020.[12] On September 9, 2020, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[13] On October 22, 2020, the Judiciary Committee reported her nomination by a unanimous 12–0 vote, with all Democratic senators boycotting the hearing.[14]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Mizelle "Not Qualified" to serve as a federal trial court judge, noting that "Since her admission to the bar Ms. Mizelle has not tried a case, civil or criminal, as lead or co-counsel."[15] Before her appointment, the nominee had only taken part in two trials — both one-day trials in a state court conducted while she was still in law school.[6] Mizelle had eight years of legal experience at the time of her nomination;[15] the ABA typically requires twelve years in order to give a nominee a rating of "Qualified". The ABA said Mizelle "has a very keen intellect, a strong work ethic and an impressive resume ... her integrity and demeanor are not in question."[16] But, the committee wrote, "These attributes...simply do not compensate for the short time she has actually practiced law and her lack of meaningful trial experience."[15]

On November 18, 2020, Mizelle's nomination was confirmed by a party-line vote of 49–41.[17] She thereby joined the first group of confirmed judicial appointments tendered by a president who has lost reelection since 1896, with the exception of Jimmy Carter's appointment of Stephen Breyer to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in November 1980.[6][18] Breyer had been confirmed by a vote of 80–10 and later would become a Supreme Court Justice.[19] She received her judicial commission on November 20, 2020.

Mizelle is married to Chad Mizelle, who has served as acting General Counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security in the administration of Donald Trump.[20][21]

• Lists of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

• Kathryn Kimball Mizelle at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.