Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan was appointed to the District Court in January 2025. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, she received her B.S., summa cum laude, from St. Francis College in 2002, her M.B.A., with distinction, from Hofstra University in 2003, and her J.D., summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2010.

After law school, Judge Sooknanan clerked for the Honorable Eric N. Vitaliano on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the Honorable Guido Calabresi on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Following those clerkships, Judge Sooknanan joined the United States Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, where she served on the Civil Division’s Appellate Staff. She left that position to clerk for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor on the United States Supreme Court.

In 2014, Judge Sooknanan joined the Issues and Appeals practice in the Washington, D.C. office of Jones Day, where she had an active pro bono practice. She became a partner at Jones Day in 2020.

In 2021, Judge Sooknanan returned to the Justice Department as a Deputy Associate Attorney General, where she served until 2023. She then served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division until her appointment to the bench.

For the pronunciation of Judge Sooknanan's name, please click here.