Judiciary
Gerard Lynch Confirmed to 2nd Circuit; Vacancies Mean Court Could Tilt Left
The Senate confirmed Gerard Lynch for the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the first federal circuit court nominee by President Obama to win approval.
With the elevation of Lynch, the 2nd Circuit now has four Democratic and six Republican appointees, the Associated Press reports. The court has three vacancies, giving Obama a chance to give the court a majority of Democratic appointees.
Lynch has been a federal prosecutor, a counsel at Covington & Burling, a professor, and an associate independent counsel for the Iran-Contra investigation, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. A Manhattan trial judge since 2000, he oversaw cases involving recording artist Lil Kim and former basketball coach Isiah Thomas.
