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R - U
Rikhye, Evan
District Court of the Virgin Islands. Nominated 3/2/26.
Evan Rikhye is currently senior counsel at Walmart in Bentonville, Ark., a position he has held since October 2024. He previously served as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice for approximately 20 years, including as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of the Virgin Islands from 2008 to 2011 and again from 2021 to 2024, where he handled high-profile public corruption and fraud prosecutions. His earlier DOJ work included a posting as a resident legal advisor with the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, and as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division. He also served as counsel and executive assistant to the chairman of the Federal Election Commission from 2003 to 2004.
Mr. Rikhye earned his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.
Rodriguez, Susan Courtwright
Western District of North Carolina. Nominated 9/15/25.
Confirmed 12/4/25.
Susan Courtwright Rodriguez is currently a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of North Carolina (appointed April 3, 2023). Prior to that, she was a partner at the law firm of McGuireWoods, where she co-led the Financial Institutions Industry Team. She served in legal policy roles in the Department of Homeland Security and in the White House Counsel’s Office. Judge Rodriguez clerked for the Honorable Frank D. Whitney, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.
Judge Rodriguez earned her J.D. from Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University (2009), and her B.A. from Centre College (2003).
Shepherd, John Thomas
Western District of Arkansas. Nominated 1/29/26.
John Shepherd currently serves as a circuit judge for the Arkansas Circuit Court's 13th Judicial District in El Dorado, a position to which he was sworn in on January 1, 2025. From 2017 to 2024, Judge Shepherd served as prosecuting attorney for the 13th Judicial District, overseeing the prosecution of all criminal cases in Calhoun, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Ouachita, and Union counties. Before that appointment, he worked as a deputy prosecuting attorney for the district beginning in November 2016. Earlier in his career, Mr. Shepherd was a partner at Shepherd & Shepherd in El Dorado, where he handled criminal defense matters in both state and federal court.
Mr. Shepherd earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2013, where he was managing editor of the Arkansas Law Review. He graduated with a B.A. in political science from Rice University in 2009.
Smith, Justin D.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Nominated 3/2/26.
Justin Smith is currently co-owner and attorney at the James Otis Law Group in St. Louis, Mo. where he focuses on appellate litigation. He previously served in several roles in the Missouri Attorney General's Office under then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt, including as first assistant attorney general and chief of staff, and as deputy attorney general for special litigation. Before that, he served as general counsel for the Missouri Department of Agriculture and as deputy counsel in the Missouri Governor's Office. Earlier in his career, Mr. Smith was an associate at the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City.
Mr. Smith earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law in 2010, where he graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif, Order of the Barristers, and Order of the Scribes, and his B.A. in political science from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2007.
St. John, Anna
Eastern District of Louisiana. Nominated 1/29/26.
Anna St. John is currently president and general counsel at the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute in New Orleans, La., where she has worked since 2015, initially leading the Center for Class Action Fairness before it became part of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute in 2020. Ms. St. John has argued appeals before the Second, Seventh, Ninth, and D.C. Circuits and has appeared before numerous federal and state trial courts. Before joining the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, she was a litigator at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., from 2007 to 2015, where she represented clients in complex litigation. Ms. St. John clerked for Judge Rhesa H. Barksdale on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (2006–07).
Ms. St. John earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2006, where she was named a James Kent Scholar, and also received a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 2006. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.A. magna cum laude in 2001.
Stevens, Cristian M.
Eastern District of Missouri, Nominated 5/12/25.
Confirmed 7/22/25.
Cristian Stevens has served as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District since November 2021. Prior to his appointment, he was the First Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General for the Criminal Division in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. He also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Missouri from 2002 to 2017. Judge Stevens clerked for Chief Judge Pasco M. Bowman II on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Judge Stevens earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1998 and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1995.
Taibleson, Rebecca L.
Seventh Circuit. Nominated 9/15/25.
Confirmed 10/27/25.
Rebecca L. Taibleson is currently Assistant U.S. Attorney and Appellate Chief for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, a role she has held since 2016. She was also Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice (2019-2022), and worked previously as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis. Ms. Taibleson clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh (while he was on the D.C. Circuit) and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ms. Taibleson earned her J.D. from Yale Law School (2010), after transferring from Stanford Law School after her first year; and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University (2005).
Tung, Eric Chunyee
Ninth Circuit. Nominated 7/16/25.
Confirmed 11/5/25.
Eric Tung is a partner in the Issues & Appeals practice at Jones Day in Los Angeles, where he handles complex appellate litigation across a range of federal and state courts, including the Ninth, D.C., and Seventh Circuits, the California Court of Appeal, and the Florida Supreme Court. He has represented clients in sectors such as energy, finance, telecommunications, and entertainment. Mr. Tung previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California and held positions in the U.S. Department of Justice as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General and as counsel in the Office of Legal Policy. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Tung earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
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