Two new, and intriguing, names have emerged in the contest to be named a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Bracewell & Giuliani partner Carol Elder Bruce and Federal Public Defender A.J. Kramer are both said to be among the applicants looking for a spot on the federal trial court.
Bruce, a noted litigator, spent a decade of her early career as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office, where she tried more than 100 cases. She went on to become a partner at Tighe Patton Armstrong Teasdale and Venable before joining Bracewell & Guiliani in 2008. Kramer has run the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Washington since it opened its doors in 1991. Both declined to comment.
The two would be part of an already competitive field of candidates,including several D.C. Superior Court judges and alumni of the local U.S. attorney’s office. See the BLT's last rundown of the contenders here.
The application process is now closed, but candidates say they are still waiting to be interviewed by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's nominating commission, which is currently in the process of vetting applicants for U.S. attorney. The current occupant of that office, Jeffrey Taylor, has announced his resignation effective tomorrow.
The commission, led by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe partner Pauline Schneider, is staying mum on the number and names of candidates. "It's not a public process," Schneider said.
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