Biden nominates 9 more judges as Senate confirms Sung to 9th Circuit

(Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced nine new federal judicial nominees, as the U.S. Senate on a party-line vote narrowly confirmed one of the Democrat's selections for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Biden's latest picks brought to 70 the number of federal district and circuit court nominations he has made so far, exceeding the 57 that former Republican President Donald Trump had made at this point in his tenure.

The nine district court nominees include Jessica Clarke, the head of New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil rights bureau, and Jennifer Rochon, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America's general counsel, to serve as judges in the Southern District of New York.

Hector Gonzalez, Dechert's global litigation practice chair, and Nina Morrison, who serves as senior litigation counsel at the Innocence Project, were nominated to join the bench in the Eastern District of New York.

The White House said the nominees in California, New York and Wisconsin exemplify Biden's pledge to bring greater diversity to the federal bench. Gonzalez, for example, would be the only active Hispanic judge on his court.

The announcement came shortly before the Senate voted 50-49 to confirm Jennifer Sung, a former union organizer, lawyer and Oregon state labor board member whose selection for the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit faced stiff Republican opposition.

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming was absent, allowing the Senate to avoid a potential tie vote.

During a Sept. 14 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republicans criticized Sung for a letter she signed in 2018 with other Yale Law School graduates opposing Brett Kavanaugh's U.S. Supreme Court nomination that called him an "intellectually and morally bankrupt ideologue."

Sung during the hearing apologized for signing the letter, saying it contained "overheated rhetoric" about Kavanaugh, who went on to face a blistering confirmation proceeding.

The committee deadlocked 10-10 on her nomination, and Vice President Kamala Harris last month was forced to cast a tie-breaking vote to allow her to advance toward a final vote when the Senate tied 50-50.

Biden's other new district court nominees include four for the Central District of California.

They include Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett; U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenly Kiya Kato; Orange County Superior Court Judge Fred Slaughter; and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes.

Biden also nominated Milwaukee County Circuit Court William Pocan to become the first LGBT federal judge ever in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Read more:

U.S. Senate panel advances 2nd Circuit nominee, divides over 9th Circuit pick

U.S. Senate panel backs 9th Circuit nominee Sanchez, deadlocks on Thomas

U.S. Senate confirms Koh to 9th Circuit, with Sung vote looming

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