Two Judges Nominated for Seats on 4th and 2nd Circuits
President Obama has nominated two federal judges for elevation to U.S. appeals courts, moving to give Democraic-appointed judges an edge on one court and evening the balance on another.
Obama nominated U.S. Distict Judge Gerard Lynch of New York for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in New York, according to the Associated Press and the Washington Post. If Lynch is confirmed, the court would have seven Democrats and six Republicans.
Obama nominated U.S. District Judge Andre Davis of Baltimore for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Virginia. If confirmed, the court would have six judges appointed by Democrats and six appointed by Republicans. Three vacancies remain.
Davis was previously nominated to the 4th Circuit by President Bill Clinton, but he was never confirmed, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Davis told the Sun he decided to become a lawyer after taking a college course at the University of Pennsylvania on important civil rights cases such as Brown v. Board of Education.
“That course was an absolute epiphany to me,” Davis told the newspaper. “This is what the law is all about, the ability of people to vindicate their rights. From that point on, I abandoned all but wanting to be a lawyer.”
Both judges were mentioned as possible nominees in a story published last month by the New York Times.
The press release announcing the nominations is posted at the Mouth of the Potomac blog, published by the New York Daily News.
