President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced his seventh round of judicial nominees, including three picks for the California-based Ninth Circuit and another three selections for district judgeships in the state (article available here).
The nominees for the Ninth Circuit are U.S. District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh, California Appellate Justice Gabriel P. Sanchez and Judge Holly A. Thomas from the Los Angeles County Superior Court. With their selections, Biden has named four judges to fill all the current vacancies on the appeals court.
The selections include Judge Koh, who would become the first Korean American woman to serve as an appellate judge and another who would become the second Black woman ever to be on the Ninth Circuit.
The only nominees for judicial posts outside of California announced Wednesday are U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Marie Menendez for the District of Minnesota and attorney David Herrera Urias for the District of New Mexico. Both come from backgrounds in civil and criminal defense, with Judge Menendez having served in the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota from 1997 to 2016.
The candidates include three Latinos, five women, an ex-public defender and multiple former civil rights and public interest attorneys.