President Barack Obama today nominated two people for federal judgeships in Washington — choosing one from the local trial bench and one from private practice.
The two nominees, D.C. Superior Court Judge James Boasberg and Trout Cacheris partner Amy Berman Jackson, have been mentioned as possibilities for more than a year. They are the second and third Obama nominees to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which has jurisdiction over such high-profile areas as Guantanamo Bay detainees and disputes involving Congress.
Boasberg has been a judge on the local D.C. trial court since 2002. He was previously an assistant U.S. attorney in the District for six years, according to his White House biography. He worked five years in private practice, first with Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco and then with what was then Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington.
Jackson has been with Trout Cacheris since 2000. Along with name partner Robert Trout, she represented former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) in a trial that ended with Jefferson found guilty of corruption. She is a former partner at Venable Baetjer Howard & Civiletti, and she was an assistant U.S. attorney in the District for six years. In 1993, she was one of 11 lawyers interviewed to be the next U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, losing out to Eric Holder Jr.
Both nominees are Ivy League graduates. Boasberg went to Yale for college and law school. Jackson went to Harvard for college and law school.
In May, Obama nominated Venable partner Robert Wilkins for a third vacancy on the U.S. District Court in Washington.
Comments