Blumenthal & Murphy Applaud Senate Judiciary Committee Approval of District Court Nominees Sarala Nagala & Omar Williams

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) applauded the Senate Judiciary Committee’s approval of Sarala Nagala and Omar Williams, two of President Biden’s nominees to fill vacancies on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. In bipartisan 13-9 votes yesterday, with two Republicans joining all Democrats, the committee advanced their nominations to be considered by the full Senate. 

“The Senate Judiciary Committee’s approval of Sarala Nagala and Omar Williams brings these professional, experienced nominees one step closer to the federal bench,” said Blumenthal. “Nagala’s and Williams’s backgrounds and respective work as a federal prosecutor and public defender will bring both personal and professional diversity to the District Court in Connecticut, and will be an invaluable addition to our legal system. I’m proud to have cast my vote for both of them in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I’m looking forward to their swift confirmation in the United States Senate.” 

“Judge Omar Williams and Sarala Nagala have both had a meteoric rise in their respective careers and have not shied away from taking on difficult jobs in the state. Judge Williams’ diversity of life experiences, from a public defender, to service technician for a telephone company, a house painter, and TV rental agent, make him a better judge. Sarala Nagala understands the importance of living and working within her community and will bring her deep understanding of the criminal justice system to the federal bench. I am glad to see the Senate Judiciary Committee approve their nominations and I look forward to their confirmation by the full Senate,” said Murphy.

Last month, Blumenthal and Murphy introduced Nagala and Williams before their Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Video of Blumenthal’s opening remarks is available for download here. Murphy’s opening remarks are available here.

Sarala Nagala is an Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Major Crimes Unit in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. In the U.S. Attorney’s office, Ms. Nagala has concentrated on hate crimes and crimes relating to human trafficking and child exploitation; she serves as the U.S. Attorney’s Office Hate Crimes Coordinator, Human Trafficking Coordinator and on the Connecticut Bar Association’s Human Trafficking Subcommittee. Ms. Nagala worked as a law clerk to Judge Susan Graber of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

Judge Omar Williams has served as a Judge on the Connecticut Superior Court since 2014. After first gaining experience defending indigent clients while participating in a criminal trial clinic as a law student, Judge Williams spent eleven years working as a public defender in New Haven. Judge Williams received his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and his Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

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