By Nate Raymond
Nov 14 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday
nominated former FBI general counsel Valerie Caproni and New
York state Judge Analisa Torres to be U.S. district judges in
the Southern District of New York.
If confirmed, the nominees would fill two of six vacancies
on one of the busiest federal courts in the country. In all, the
Obama administration nominated seven judges nationally to the
bench.
"Too many of our courtrooms stand empty," Obama said in a
statement. "I hope the Senate will promptly consider all of my
nominees and ensure justice for everyday Americans."
Caproni served as the FBI's general counsel from 2003 to
2011. After that she as deputy general counsel at Northrop
Grumman Corporation.
Caproni also worked in other enforcement roles, at the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's
office in Brooklyn. Her resume also includes stints at Cravath,
Swaine & Moore and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Torres was elected to New York state Supreme Court's
Criminal Term in Manhattan in November 2011. In 2004 she was
appointed acting justice in New York state Supreme Court in
Bronx County.
Torres was a judge on the New York Civil Court from 2003 to
2004 and on the New York Criminal Court from 2000 to 2002.
Outside of New York, Obama nominated Florida state court
Judge William Thomas to the U.S. District Court in Miami; New
Mexico U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales to the U.S. District Court
in New Mexico; Raymond Moore, the federal public defender for
Colorado and Wyoming, to the U.S. District Court in Colorado;
California Superior Court Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell to the
U.S. District Court in Los Angeles; and Derrick Watson, an
assistant U.S. Attorney in Hawaii to the federal bench there.
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