December 12, 2021 - Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has highlighted her support for Judge Lucy Koh before the Senate voted 51-38 to advance her nomination to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate is expected to vote on Judge Koh’s confirmation on Monday.

“I rise today in support of the nomination of Lucy H. Koh to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Judge Koh is a highly respected member of the federal judiciary and has served California well throughout her career. She would be a welcome addition to the 9th Circuit bench.

I have long supported Judge Koh, and am pleased that the Senate will soon be considering her nomination. I recommended Judge Koh for a seat on the 9th Circuit back in 2016 and was pleased that President Obama nominated her at that time. And I was disappointed that she did not receive a vote on the Senate floor, even though she received strong bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee, which favorably reported her nomination.

I am pleased that Judge Koh was among the first circuit court nominees announced by President Biden earlier this year. Her credentials are undeniably impressive. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1990, and her law degree from Harvard Law School in 1993.

Judge Koh spent several years early in her career in public service, first as a legal fellow on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Subcommittee, and then with the Department of Justice. Among her achievements while at the Justice Department, Judge Koh received an award from the FBI for ‘Demonstrated Excellence in Prosecuting a Major Fraud Case.’

She then brought her skills to the private sector, spending nearly a decade in private practice in Palo Alto, California, where she became a distinguished intellectual property lawyer working on patent, trade secret, and commercial civil litigation. In 2008, she was appointed by California’s then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, to serve as a judge on the California Superior Court for Santa Clara County.

In 2010, President Obama nominated her to serve as a federal district judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Senate voted unanimously, 90 to 0, to confirm her to that position. She has served with distinction as a federal district judge for more than a decade.

Judge Koh has excelled throughout her career as a federal prosecutor, in private practice, and as both a state and federal judge. I have no doubt that she will continue to excel if she is confirmed to the 9th Circuit.

Judge Koh has received bipartisan support each time her nomination has come before the Senate, including a bipartisan vote earlier this year in the Judiciary Committee. I urge all of my colleagues to support her nomination.”
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein