Biden nominates five, including former Philly DA, to federal courts in Pa.

A former interim Philadelphia district attorney, the current U.S. attorney for the Pittsburgh region, two judges with backgrounds as public defenders, and an intellectual-property lawyer were nominated Tuesday by President Joe Biden for five federal court positions in Pennsylvania.

The nominations include choices who, if confirmed, would be the first Asian American judge to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and, for the District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania, the first Asian American and second Latina judges.

Kelley B. Hodge, who gained local attention as the interim Philadelphia district attorney from 2017 to 2018, was nominated for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Hodge, 50, replaced DA Seth Williams after his corruption conviction and was the first Black woman to hold that role, and is now a partner at Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia.

For the Third Circuit, Biden nominated Cindy K. Chung, 47, whom he had appointed U.S. attorney in Western Pennsylvania last year. The court handles cases from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.

A White House statement said the nominees are all “devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution” and “continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.”

Biden’s District Court nominees won bipartisan praise from Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, who collaborate on recommendations for that bench. Only Casey issued a formal statement praising Chung, the Third Circuit pick, but Toomey’s office indicated he will likely also back her confirmation.

“Cindy has been a trailblazer throughout her career — not only by serving as the first Senate-confirmed [Asian-Pacific American] U.S. Attorney in Pennsylvania, but also working on the first,” prosecution in the country under a law meant to fight hate crimes, Casey said.

Toomey’s office said that he would return the “blue slip” for her nomination, which signals sign-off from a nominee’s home-state senators, and that “barring any concerns that arise from her confirmation hearings, he intends to vote for her.”

Biden’s first Third Circuit pick, Arianna Freeman, is still awaiting Senate confirmation after a nomination to become the first woman of color to join the court. Her nomination advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in late June.

Chung, before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Western Pennsylvania, was a trial attorney in the criminal section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and before that was an assistant district attorney in New York. She received her law degree from Columbia Law School.

Hodge, earlier in her career, had been the Safe Schools Advocate under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and a public defender in Richmond, Va. She received her law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Three others nominated for the Eastern Pennsylvania District Court are:

John Frank Murphy, 44, an intellectual-property attorney and partner at Baker & Hostetler in Philadelphia, where has worked since 2007. He was previously a law clerk for Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore on the prestigious Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Judge Mia Perez, 40, a Court of Common Pleas judge for Philadelphia since 2016. A product of Philadelphia’s public schools, according to Casey’s office, she was previously in private practice at her own firm, Perez Law, from 2011 to 2016. Earlier she was an assistant defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia from 2006 to 2010, and got her law degree from Temple University.

Judge Kai Scott, 51, a Court of Common Pleas judge in Philadelphia since 2015. Scott has a long history as a public defender, including serving as the Trial Unit chief for the Federal Community Defender Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 2010 to 2015 and serving as an assistant federal defender and a trial attorney with the Defender Association of Philadelphia before that.Scott received her law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law.

“I am proud that these distinguished individuals have been nominated by the White House,” Casey said in the joint statement with Toomey about the four District Court picks. “I know they will bring the leadership, independence and commitment to the rule of law necessary for these critical roles.”

Toomey said Biden “has selected four strong, well-qualified candidates,” adding, “I look forward to seeing their efforts to protect and uphold the rule of law.”