By Howard Koplowitz
The U.S. Senate confirmed Vincent native Embry Kidd to serve on the federal appeals court that covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida, making Kidd just the second Black male appellate judge approved by the upper chamber in the last 10 years.
Kidd, who now lives in Florida and is a federal magistrate judge there, was confirmed Monday for a seat on the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a 49-45 vote along party lines.
“Judge Kidd’s experience in private practice and public service, in addition to his experience as a magistrate judge, has prepared him to serve with distinction on the federal bench,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a statement.
“I congratulate Judge Kidd on becoming the forty-fifth Circuit Court judge confirmed under the Biden-Harris Administration, and the latest example of the Senate Judiciary Committee advancing highly qualified nominees to bring balance to the federal judiciary.”
During his confirmation hearing in June, Kidd described Vincent as “a small town where my family has lived for generations.”
He noted his father, Robert Kidd, served on the Vincent Town Council for 20 years and was succeeded in the seat by his cousin, Bridgette Smith.
“My father and my late mother, Mary Ellen Kidd, first instilled in me the importance of public and community service service,” Kidd said.
Durbin said Monday’s confirmation of Kidd to the 11th Circuit is part of the Judiciary Committee’s “work filling judicial vacancies with highly qualified, diverse candidates who help ensure the fair and impartial administration of the American justice system.”
Kidd is just the second Black man confirmed for a federal appeals court judgeship in the last 10 years and the first since 2022, according to Bloomberg Law.
State Rep. Kelvin Datcher, D-Birmingham, applauded Kidd’s confirmation.
“Another GREAT one from City Of Vincent Alabama – Congratulations to Embry Kidd CONFIRMED to the US 11th Court of Appeals…and now a potential US Supreme Court of the United States Justice!” Datcher posted on social media.
Kidd received his bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta and his law degree from Yale Law School.
Since 2019, he has been a U.S. magistrate judge in Orlando for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Prior to his magistrate judgeship, Kidd worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and was an associate at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Williams & Connolly.
