Panel Prepares List to Succeed Obama Judicial Nominee (Irene Berger awaits Senate vote)

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- As Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene Berger awaits a U.S. Senate vote on her nomination to the federal bench, the search for a successor has narrowed to seven names.

A special committee released its recommendations Friday to Gov. Joe Manchin, in the event Berger is confirmed as expected.

One elected official, House Judiciary Chairwoman Carrie Webster, D-Kanawha, made the cut along with two judges, John Hackney of the state Court of Claims and administrative law judge Phyllis Carter.

So did longtime lawyers David Cecil, Kitty Dooley and Joanna Tabit, and lawyer and former veteran broadcaster Kathy Brown.

President Obama nominated Berger for a seat on the state's southern U.S. District Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously endorsed her earlier this month.

http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/65818982.html



Judge Irene Cornelia Berger, Nominee for the Southern District of West Virginia
Age: 54

Judge Berger is currently a judge on the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, where she has served for 15 years. After graduating from law school, Judge Berger worked as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Charleston, where she primarily represented low income clients in matters involving domestic, consumer, and landlord-tenant disputes. In 1982, Judge Berger became an assistant prosecuting attorney for Kanawha County. In 1994, Judge Berger joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia, and then was appointed by Governor Gaston Caperton to the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. Judge Berger graduated from West Virginia University in 1976 and from West Virginia College of Law in 1979. Judge Berger is being nominated to the Southern District Court of West Virginia. Judge Berger received a unanimous well-qualified rating from the ABA.


Previous posts about her

Obama nominates two more for US District Judge (10 Federal Judge nominations and counting)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6086013

Senate Judiciary votes to send 4 Obama Judicial nominations to the full Senate
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6676766