President Obama Nominates Nguyen, Wimes

President Obama has nominated Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Judge Brian C. Wimes to the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western District of Missouri.  This Circuit Court seat is one of 35 federal vacancies to be designated a judicial emergency by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.

Judge Nguyen is currently a United States District Judge in the Central District of California in Los Angeles and is the first Vietnamese American to serve on the federal bench.  If confirmed, she would be the United States’ first Asian Pacific American woman to serve as a federal appellate court judge and one of only two Asian Pacific Americans actively serving in the nation’s federal Courts of Appeals.

Judge Wimes has served since 2007 on the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri.  When appointed to the seat, he was the only African-American judge serving in Jackson County.

With these nominations, there are now 58 nominees pending for the 115 vacancies in the federal judiciary.  For the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on judicial nominations, visit the Judicial Selection Project webpage.