Nicole Berner, American-Israeli lawyer, appointed as U.S. appellate judge

The U.S. Senate voted 50 to 47 in favor of confirming attorney Nicole Berner to serve as a federal appeals court judge for the Fourth Circuit, which encompasses Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Berner is the first Israeli citizen appointed as a U.S. appellate judge and also the first member of the LGBTQ+ community to join the Fourth Circuit court, which, until recently, was known as one of the most conservative in the country.

Before her appointment to the bench, Berner worked as legal counsel for the Service Employees International Union and as an attorney for Planned Parenthood.

Born in the UK, Berner immigrated to the United States with her family during childhood, then moved to Israel in the 1980s, and later returned to the USA to pursue her studies in 1992.

In 2000, while residing in Israel, Berner, along with her spouse Ruth Kadish, petitioned the High Court of Justice to compel the Ministry of the Interior to recognize her as the second mother of Kadish's child, who had been legally adopted by Berner under California law. In 2001, the High Court ruled in their favor, ordering the registration of both women.