Federal prosecutor Jabari Wamble didn’t make the second round of judicial nominations that President Joe Biden resubmitted to the U.S. Senate for confirmation, although the Kansan might still be in play for a judgeship.
A candidate for the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Wamble was not among the 17 judicial nominations that the president announced Monday he was resubmitting who weren’t confirmed before the end of 2022.
On the list released Monday, however, was Biden’s nominee for Kansas U.S. attorney, Kate E. Brubacher.
A couple weeks ago, Biden resubmitted a list of 25 judicial nominees that included voting rights lawyer Dale Ho, most known in Kansas legal circles for successfully challenging Kris Kobach’s defense of the state’s voter citizenship law.
Wamble, the son-in-law of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, was also not on that list.
Wamble was not rated by the American Bar Association.
He was one of only five Biden judicial nominees not to get an ABA score. The ABA didn’t explain why he wasn’t rated and the White House didn’t comment.
The president nominated Wamble last September.
However, it was believed by some that a lack of an ABA rating, regardless of other credentials, could hurt Wamble’s nomination because of the value that Democrats place on the bar association’s evaluation.
The White House didn’t respond to an email last week seeking comment on Wamble’s status, but Bloomberg Law reported on Monday that he still might be in play for a nomination.
“The White House has every confidence in Jabari Wamble,” the spokesperson told Bloomberg Law.
The White House gave no indication about its plans, but there is still a district court opening in Kansas with Judge Julie Robinson on senior status.
Robinson was the first African American appointed a U.S. district judge for the District of Kansas.
A 2006 graduate of the University of Kansas Law School, Wamble started his career with the Johnson County district attorney’s office as an assistant prosecutor.
In Johnson County, Wamble conducted jury trials, negotiated pleas and sentencings in felony cases including assault and battery, drug possession, drunk driving, identity fraud, illegal weapons possession and property crimes.
In 2007, he joined the Kansas attorney general’s office, where he worked in the Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division.
His work in the Kansas attorney general’s office included assisting in a case involving a physician connected to 68 prescription drug deaths and 150 overdoses who was later convicted.
Four years later, he joined the U.S. attorney’s office, where his responsibilities included serving as a point of contact for local, state and federal authorities for environmental investigations.
