Legal News

Here Come the Judges! A Preview of Possible Obama Picks

By Ashby Jones

Earlier this year, we examined the degree to which President Obama may be able to realign the federal appellate courts. Our conclusion: quite a bit. By the end of 2009, Obama will likely be looking at 16 vacancies to fill, including four on the Fourth Circuit and two each on the D.C., Ninth and Third Circuits.

A NYT article out Wednesday sheds some light on who Obama might pick — or at least who his advisers are considering.

For one of the Fourth Circuit seats, one which traditionally goes to someone from Maryland, officials said the White House was considering nominating Andre Davis, a District Court judge based in Baltimore. Judge Davis, (Penn, Maryland Law) was nominated to the district court by President Clinton and took the bench in 1995.

The Times reports that in regard to the Virginia seat, several candidates have emerged, including Elizabeth Magill (Yale, UVA), a law professor at the University of Virginia and daughter of a former federal appeals court judge.

In regard to the two Second Circuit seats, officials reportedly told the Times that aid the White House had settled on elevating Gerard E. Lynch (Columbia, Columbia Law), a Columbia law professor and current federal judge in the Southern District of New York.

If you’ve read this far and still have a hankering for more judge news, check out this interesting piece in Legal Times, which handicaps just who might have the power when it comes to the appointment of federal trial-court judges in D.C. (Hint: It might not be White House counsel Greg Craig.)

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 11, 2009 (boomark / email).