Indian-American Rupali Desai appointed as judge in US Court of Appeals

The US Senate has confirmed the appointment of Indian-American lawyer Rupali H Desai to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. With this, she has become the first judge of South Asian origin to be appointed as a judge in this powerful court.

67 lawmakers from both the US parties – the Democratic Party and the Republican Party – voted in favor of Desai on Thursday, while 29 members voted against him.

Ninth Circuit is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is the largest of the 13 appellate courts in the country. Desai is a partner at Copsmith Brokelmann, where she has been practicing law since 2007.