04.29.21

Cantwell Commends Historic Nominations of Tana Lin and David Estudillo to the U.S. District Court for Seattle and Tacoma

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released the following statement after the White House announced that President Biden nominated former public defender and civil rights lawyer Tana Lin and former immigration lawyer Judge David Estudillo to serve as Federal District Court judges for the Seattle and Tacoma courthouses in the Western District of Washington.

Early in 2021, Washington Senators Cantwell and Murray (D-WA) recommended Lin and Judge Estudillo’s nominations to the new administration.

“Judge Estudillo and Tana Lin are both highly-qualified nominees that reflect the diversity we need on our federal bench. I welcome their nominations to the U.S. District Court. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support their confirmation. We need to swiftly fill these vacancies,” said Senator Cantwell.

Tana Lin would be the first Asian American appointed as a federal judge in either Washington state district. Currently, Lin serves on the Board of Directors for ACLU of Washington and is Of Counsel at Keller Rohrback L.L.P. in Seattle. She practices complex litigation, with a particular focus on the rights of employees, consumers, and shareholders. Previously, she worked as a public defender and trial attorney and has experience enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. This past fall, Lin worked as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law and helped the Federal Bar Association of Washington develop the 2020 Western District of Washington Litigation Academy.

In 2015, Judge David Estudillo was appointed to the position of Grant County Superior Court Judge by Governor Inslee. When he ran to retain his position in 2016, he received bipartisan support in Grant County and was reelected in 2020. Judge Estudillo is the Presiding Judge of the Grant County Superior Court and is the President of the Washington State Superior Court Judges’ Association. Judge Estudillo was born and raised in Sunnyside, Washington and is the son of Mexican immigrants who came to the Yakima Valley through the Bracero Program in the 1960s. Estudillo received his Bachelor’s and Law degrees from the University of Washington.

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