Circuit, along with the nominations of Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard, ultimately became central to the debate over the use of the filibuster in the United States Senate, leading to the use of the nuclear option to bring it to the floor for a vote.

[4] From 2002 to 2010, Wilkins was in private practice as a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm Venable LLP, where he litigated patent disputes and other cases.

[7] Wilkins was a member of the presidential commission that advised President George W. Bush on the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

[5] In May 1992, Wilkins was in a rented vehicle with three other family members when they were pulled over by Maryland State Police for violating the speed limit.

[9] At the time, the Maryland State Police Department instructed their officers to focus on black males in expensive vehicles when conducting traffic stops.

[10][11] As part of the case settlement, Maryland was required to maintain records of all traffic stops that resulted in vehicle search requests.

[22][23][24] In April 2018, Wilkins wrote for the majority when it found that a Federal Trade Commission staff letter rejecting an earlier staff letter and concluding that use of soundboard technology violates the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act was not itself subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act, over the dissent of Judge Patricia Millett.