Judiciary Watch

Sixth Circuit upholds health care law

In the first appellate review of the Obama administration's 2010 health care law, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that it is constitutional for Congress to require Americans to buy health insurance.  The Fourth and Eleventh Circuits also recently heard arguments on health care legislation and are expected to deliver opinions soon.  It is widely expected that the Supreme Court will take one or more of the cases, maybe as soon as the October term.

The opinion in the 2-to-1 ruling was authored by Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton, a Bush appointee, and Hon. Boyce F. Martin Jr., a Carter appointee.  In the lower courts, 3 Democratic appointees upheld the law, while 2 Republican appointees rejected it.   Sutton is viewed by many as a reliable conservative, but lawyers interviewed for the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary said he is ultimately fair.  "The general perception is that he is a more conservative judge, but I felt he took a very hard look at my position. He ultimately disagreed, but I felt that he listened and was fair."

Senate confirms Simon to bench in Oregon

The Senate, with a 64 – 35 vote, last week confirmed Michael H. Simon to the U.S. District Court in Oregon.  Simon, a graduate of Harvard Law School in 1981, was in private practice in Portland from 1986 until his appointment to the bench.  At Perkins Cole LLP, his practice focused primarily on business litigation in both federal and state courts and at both the trial and appellate levels.  Simon was with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. D.O.J. from 1981 to 1986, an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School for several years, and also served as a judge pro tem on the Multnomah County Circuit Court from 1997 to 2000.  

Simon was first nominated by President Obama in 2010 and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but his nomination was returned when the Senate failed to bring it to a vote before the end of the term.  He was re-nominated earlier this year.  Simon fills the seat of Hon. Ancer L. Haggerty, who took senior status in 2009.

 

 

Salas and Cecchi confirmed to New Jersey court

Esther Salas and Claire C. Cecchi were confirmed to the U.S. District Court for New Jersey last week.  Both were U.S. Magistrate judges in Newark prior to their confirmation.  Salas is a graduate of Rutgers Univ. School of Law and was an Assistant Federal Public Defender for almost 10 years prior to taking the bench in 2006.  Salas is the first Hispanic woman appointed to the federal bench in New Jersey.  Cecchi is a graduate of Fordham Univ. School of Law and was in private practice for almost 15 years before becoming a magistrate in 2006. 

Almost half of President Obama’s appointees to the federal bench so far have been women.  Twenty-two percent of President Bush’s picks and twenty-eight percent of President Clinton’s picks to the district and circuit courts were women.  There are currently 107 vacancies on the federal bench, with 54 nominations pending.