Judiciary Watch

Senate confirms Gregory Katsas to D.C. Court of Appeals

The Senate yesterday confirmed Gregory G. Katsas to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by a 50 to 48 vote.  Katsas comes to the bench from the Office of the White House Counsel.  He is a 1989 graduate of Harvard Law School and clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas.  Katsas was with the firm Jones Day in Washington, D.C. for more than 15 years, and also served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Senate confirms Dabney Langhorne Friedrich to District of Columbia court

The Senate yesterday confirmed Dabney Langhorne Friedrich to the District Court for the District of Columbia by a 97 to 3 vote.  Friedrich is a 1992 graduate of Yale Law School and clerked for Hon. Thomas F. Hogan in the District of Columbia.  She was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Southern District of California and the Eastern District of Virginia, as well as counsel to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch for one year and Associate Counsel to the President from 2003 to 2006.  Most recently, Friedrich served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Senate confirms Coggins to South Carolina district court

The Senate yesterday confirmed Donald C. Coggins, Jr. to the district court in South Carolina by a 96-0 vote.  Coggins is a 1984 graduate of the Univ. of South Carolina School of Law and spent his career in private practice in Spartanburg, SC.  Most recently, his practice was a general civil litigation practice in federal and state court, with personal injury work making up half of his practice.  Coggins was first nominated to the bench in February, 2016 by President Obama, but his nomination expired with the end of the 114th Congress.

Senate confirms two more to U.S. Circuit Courts

The Senate confirmed Stephanos Bibas to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals by a 53 to 43 vote.  Bibas is a graduate of Yale Law School and a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.  Bibas has been a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School since 2006.  Hon. Allison Hartwell Eid was confirmed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals by vote of 56 to 41.  Eid is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  Eid has been a Colorado Supreme Court Justice since 2006.

Senate confirms Larsen to 6th Circuit

The Senate yesterday confirmed Hon. Joan L. Larsen to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals by a 60 to 38 vote.  Larsen is a former Law Clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and has been on the Michigan Supreme Court since 2015.  Prior to taking the bench, Larsen was a professor and administrator at the Univ. of Michigan Law School.

Barrett and McFadden confirmed to federal courts

The Senate yesterday confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by a 55 to 43 vote.  Coney, a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, has been a professor at Notre Dame Law School since 2002.  On Monday, Trevor N. McFadden was confirmed to the District Court for the District of Columbia by a vote of 84 to 10.  McFadden is a former U.S. Attorney and comes to the bench from the Attorney General’s office, where he was an Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division.