Senate Confirms John David Russell as Federal Judge for Northern District of Oklahoma

Russell becomes the second confirmation to the Northern District of Oklahoma today.

The U.S. Senate today held a recorded vote to confirm one individual as an Article III federal judge. With this confirmation, 166 judges nominated by President Joe Biden have now been confirmed by the Senate. With today’s action, 126 of Biden’s judicial nominees have been approved for service on federal district courts.

By voice vote, John David Russell was confirmed as a Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He is Biden’s second confirmation to the 4-person court, with no additional vacancies at this time.

Russell assumes the Tulsa-based seat previously held by John E. Dowdell, who took senior status in June 2021 due to a certified disability. A nominee of President Barack Obama, Russell served on this court from 2012 to 2021 and was Chief Judge from 2019 to 2021. Russell was nominated to this seat on the federal judiciary by Biden in October 2023.

From 1991 to 1993, Russell worked as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division. From 1995 to 2002, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He then moved into private practice at Fellers Snider Blankenship Bailey & Tippens from 2002 to 2012. Since 2015, he has been a shareholder at the law firm GableGotwals.