San Jose Judge Lucy Koh nominated to federal appeals court
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_29562869/san-jose-judge-lucy-koh-nominated-to-federal-appeals-court
San Jose U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, whose rulings in major tech industry legal showdowns have heavily influenced Silicon Valley, was nominated on Thursday to a federal appeals court.
Setting up another possible election-year standoff over a federal judge pick, President Barack Obama nominated Koh to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Republican-controlled Senate would have to confirm Koh, ordinarily a tough sell in a presidential election year and further complicated by the looming prospect of an epic political showdown over the president's anticipated nomination of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Koh's nomination, along with several other Obama picks for federal appeals courts in recent months, will unfold amid a planned Republican backlash against any nominee the White House forwards for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia....
"Judge Lucy Haeran Koh has distinguished herself as a first-rate jurist with unflagging integrity and evenhandedness," President Obama said in a statement. "I am grateful for her service to the state of California and look forward to adding her considerable wisdom and experience to the Ninth Circuit Court."
