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Sinema worked closely with the White House to nominate Krissa Lanham and Judge Angela Martinez to serve as U.S. District Court Judges
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema introduced Judge Angela Martinez and Krissa Lanham, nominees to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sinema worked closely with the White House to nominate Judge Martinez and Ms. Lanham – two highly respected members of Arizona’s legal community with decades of experience.
“I am honored to introduce two outstanding Arizona District Court Judge nominees, Angela Martinez and Krissa Lanham, who are both deeply committed to justice, the rule of law, and furthering community engagement with the courts. I look forward to supporting their nominations,” said Sinema, who helped nominate both candidates.
Sinema applauded the Arizonans’ nominations last month, which she helped secure.
Judge Angela M. Martinez has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Arizona since 2023. Judge Martinez was previously an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona from 2015 to 2023. From 2013 to 2015, she served as a law clerk for Judge Jennifer G. Zipps on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Prior to that, Judge Martinez was an associate at Farhang & Medcoff, P.L.L.C. from 2012 to 2013 after an earlier period serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Arizona from 2005 to 2009. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Martinez was an associate at Lewis and Roca, L.L.P. in Phoenix and Tucson from 2002 to 2004 and she served as a law clerk for Judge John M. Roll on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona from 2000 to 2002. Judge Martinez received her J.D. from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in 2000 and her B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1995.
Krissa M. Lanham has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona since 2009. She has served as Appellate Chief in that office since 2020, after previously serving as the Deputy Appellate Chief and Human Trafficking Coordinator. Ms. Lanham served as a law clerk for Judge Barry G. Silverman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2008 to 2009 and for Judge Robert N. Chatigny on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut from 2007 to 2008. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 2007 and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Yale University in 2002.
Sinema has a track record of earning broad bipartisan support for judicial nominees. In 2022, Sinema personally ensured the swift confirmation of Arizonan Roopali Desai as federal judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.