Jamel K. Semper
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Assumed office
December 1, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byJohn Michael Vazquez
Personal details
Born
Jamel Ken Semper

1981 (age 42–43)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationHampton University (BA)
Rutgers University (JD)

Jamel Ken Semper (born 1981)[1] is an American lawyer from New Jersey who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey since 2023. He previously served as an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey from 2018 to 2023.

Education

Semper received a Bachelor of Arts from Hampton University in 2003 and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School in 2007.[2]

Career

Semper served as a law clerk for Judge Harold Fullilove of the Essex County Superior Court from 2007 to 2008. From 2008 to 2013 he served as an assistant prosecutor in the Union County Prosecutor's Office and from 2013 to 2018 he served as an assistant prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. From 2018 to 2023, he served as an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, where he served as deputy chief of the Office's Criminal Division.[2] During his time as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Semper headed the Organized Crimes and Gangs section.[3] In 2021, Semper was one of seven candidates under consideration to be the United States attorney for the District of New Jersey.[4][5]

Notable cases

Semper was the lead prosecutor in the case of Ali Muhammad Brown. Brown, a convert to Islam and jihadi, in 2018 was convicted of multiple murders that occurred in 2014 in Seattle, Washington, and West Orange, New Jersey.[6] Semper's prosecution in this case was New Jersey's first under the state's domestic terrorism statute.[7]

Federal judicial service

On September 6, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Semper to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.[2] On September 18, 2023, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Semper to the seat vacated by Judge John Michael Vazquez, who resigned on September 8, 2023.[8] On October 4, 2023, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[9] On October 26, 2023, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 13–8 vote.[10] On November 29, 2023, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 54–44 vote.[11] Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 54–44 vote.[12] He received his judicial commission on December 1, 2023.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "President Biden Names Thirty-Eighth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ↑ "Black ministers push for Semper". January 11, 2021.
  4. ↑ Wildstein, David (September 6, 2023). "Biden picks Semper, Kiel as federal judges". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  5. ↑ Wildstein, David (January 8, 2021). "Menendez, Booker eyeing seven candidates for U.S. Attorney". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  6. ↑ Moriarty, Thomas (March 6, 2018). "Terrorist admits gunning down Brendan Tevlin, 3 others". nj. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Senate Judiciary Committee hears Semper's nomination". October 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. September 18, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. October 3, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 26, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Jamel Semper to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey)". United States Senate. November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  12. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Jamel Semper, of New Jersey, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey)". United States Senate. November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  13. ↑ Jamel K. Semper at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

See also

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