Andre Bernard Mathis

Andre Bernard Mathis (born 1980) is an American attorney who serves as a United States circuit judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, he has been an active member of the federal appellate bench since receiving his commission in September 2022. His career prior to joining the judiciary encompassed private practice, criminal‑defense work, and service on several professional and judicial selection committees in Tennessee.

Early life and legal career

Mathis was born in 1980 and pursued higher education at the University of Memphis, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2003. He continued his studies at the same institution’s Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor in 2007. Following graduation, Mathis entered private practice as an associate with the Memphis law firm Glankler Brown. In that role he focused on criminal‑defense representation, participating as a member of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and contributing to the work of the Tennessee Innocence Project.

Beyond his courtroom responsibilities, Mathis became involved in a number of committees and panels that address judicial administration and professional conduct. He served on the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the Western District of Tennessee during two separate periods, first from 2010 to 2011 and later from 2019 to 2020. His expertise in federal criminal defense was recognized through appointment to the Federal Defender Evaluation Committee of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2012‑2013 term. From 2015 until 2021, Mathis sat on the Disciplinary Hearing Committee of the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, a body that adjudicates attorney misconduct matters. He also contributed to local ethics oversight as a member of the Shelby County Ethics Commission between 2013 and 2017.

In January 2020, Mathis transitioned to another Memphis‑based firm, joining the office of Butler Snow LLP. This move placed him within a broader national practice while maintaining his focus on litigation and criminal‑defense matters in Tennessee. Throughout these years, Mathis combined private advocacy with public service roles that provided insight into both state and federal judicial processes.

Federal appellate service

President Joseph R. Biden announced his intent to nominate Mathis to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on November 17, 2021, and formally transmitted the nomination to the Senate the following day. The vacancy arose from Judge Bernice B. Donald’s decision to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. Mathis’s nomination generated notable procedural controversy because both senators from Tennessee declined to return favorable “blue slips,” a traditional senatorial courtesy indicating support for a judicial nominee. The White House was also reported not to have consulted the state’s congressional delegation before submitting the name.

Under Senate Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6, the initial nomination was returned to the President on January 3, 2022. President Biden renominated Mathis later that same day, allowing the confirmation process to continue. A hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee took place on January 12, 2022. During the session, Senator Marsha Blackburn expressed concerns regarding Mathis’s experience in federal law and referenced prior traffic citations, including three speeding tickets for which he had not responded to court notices. The committee chairman acknowledged procedural oversights related to the blue‑slip process but emphasized that Mathis himself was not personally at fault.

Despite the objections raised, the Judiciary Committee reported Mathis’s nomination favorably on February 10, 2022, with a vote of 12–10. Subsequent Senate action included filing for cloture on August 7, 2022 by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The Senate invoked cloture on September 7, 2022, voting 48–45 to limit further debate. Confirmation followed the next day; the full Senate approved Mathis’s appointment by a margin of 48–47. Notably, Senator John Kennedy broke with his Republican colleagues to support the nomination, contributing to the narrow majority. With this vote, Mathis became the first Black man confirmed to any federal circuit court in more than three thousand days, the previous instance being Judge Robert L. Wilkins’s confirmation to the District of Columbia Circuit on January 13, 2014.

Mathis received his judicial commission on September 27, 2022 and has served as an active circuit judge on the Sixth Circuit ever since. The court, which hears appeals from district courts in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, assigns Mathis to panels that consider a broad range of civil and criminal matters under federal law.

Jurisprudence and legacy

As a relatively recent appointee, Judge Mathis’s written opinions and voting record are still developing. His participation on the Sixth Circuit contributes to the court’s collective authority in interpreting statutes, constitutional provisions, and regulatory schemes that affect millions of residents within its jurisdiction. By virtue of his position, he engages in the appellate process of reviewing district‑court decisions, authoring majority, concurring, or dissenting opinions as required by each case.

Judge Mathis’s professional background—particularly his extensive experience in criminal defense and involvement with innocence‑project work—offers a perspective grounded in advocacy for defendants’ rights and procedural fairness. While specific rulings have not been highlighted in the available sources, his prior service on disciplinary and ethics committees suggests familiarity with standards of professional conduct that may inform his approach to judicial ethics and accountability.

Beyond case law, Mathis’s appointment holds symbolic significance within the broader context of federal judiciary diversity. His confirmation marked a notable moment for representation on the appellate bench, ending a multi‑decade interval without a Black male judge confirmed to any circuit court. This milestone aligns with ongoing efforts to reflect the demographic composition of the United States within its judicial institutions.

Judge Mathis continues to serve actively on the Sixth Circuit, contributing to the development of federal jurisprudence and participating in the administration of justice at the appellate level. His career trajectory—from private practice and public‑service committees in Tennessee to a lifetime appointment on a federal circuit court—illustrates a pathway through which legal professionals can transition from advocacy roles to positions of judicial authority within the United States federal system.