U.S. Senator Jack Reed introduces U.S. District Court of Rhode Island Nominee Judge Melissa DuBose ahead of her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 8, 2024. Senators Reed and Whitehouse recommended Judge DuBose's nomination to President Biden in January 2024.
A native Rhode Islander, Melissa DuBose, 55, graduated from Providence College in 1990 with an undergraduate degree in Political Science and went on to receive her teaching certification from the Providence College School of Continuing Education.
She taught history and civics in the Providence Public Schools for a decade and earned her Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law, graduating in 2004. Upon earning her law degree, she was appointed Special Assistant Attorney General for Rhode Island and assigned to the criminal division from 2005 to 2008. She went on to serve as senior legal counsel at Schneider Electric in Foxboro, Massachusetts, providing in-house legal support for the company’s global units and specializing in federal contracts, corporate compliance, ethics, and fair trade.
In December 2018, she was appointed to the Rhode Island District Court by Governor Gina Raimondo and confirmed by the Rhode Island State Senate the following month.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Judge DuBose would become the first person of color and first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. She would fill a vacancy created by Judge William E. Smith, who has announced that he intends to retire from regular active service and will assume senior status on January 1, 2025.
