WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- President Barack Obama last week nominated four women to serve on four different federal courts.
On Thursday, Obama nominated Judge Carolyn McHugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
If confirmed, McHugh, who is currently the presiding judge of the Utah Court of Appeals, would be the first woman from Utah to serve on that court. Currently, the Tenth Circuit only has one woman judge serving among its nine active members.
"Judge Carolyn B. McHugh has displayed exceptional dedication to the legal profession through her work and I am honored to nominate her to serve the American people as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals," Obama said in a statement.
"She will be a diligent, judicious and esteemed addition to the Tenth Circuit bench."
Also Thursday, the President nominated three women to three different federal district courts.
If confirmed, Pamela Reeves, a Knoxville, Tenn., lawyer, would be the first woman to serve as a district court judge in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Elizabeth Wolford, a Rochester, N.Y., lawyer, would be the first to serve on the Western District of New York.
Jackson, Miss., lawyer Debra Brown also was nominated Thursday.
She would be the first African-American district court judge to serve in the Northern District of Mississippi and the first African-American woman to serve as an Article III judge in the entire state of Mississippi, if confirmed.
"These individuals have demonstrated the talent, expertise and fair-mindedness Americans expect and deserve from their judicial system," Obama said. "I am grateful for their willingness to serve and confident that they will apply the law with the utmost impartiality and integrity."
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.