Apple v. Samsung patent feud judge Lucy Koh nominated to the Ninth Circuit
San Jose Mercury News, a Silicon Valley-based daily newspaper, reported that the Obama administration has nominated Lucy H. Koh this Tuesday on February 2nd, to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to succeed the retiring 92-year-old Judge Harry Pregerson.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is one of the thirteen federal appellate courts and has jurisdiction over the district courts in 9 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington), as well as two territorial courts (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands).
Koh, 47, presided over the widely reported Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. lawsuit and received considerable media coverage over the years as a result.
San Jose Mercury News further stated that the FBI is conducting its routine background screening on federal appointees and the American Bar Association (ABA) is also preparing its judicial nominees evaluation for the White House.
Koh has “pretty good reviews,” according to a lawyer contacted by ABA screeners, but legal experts say the likelihood of an Obama nominee getting through the Senate is questionable due to Senate Republican resistance in this election year, coupled with her strong reputation as a high-profile Silicon Valley-based judge.
Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Norman, Oklahoma, Koh earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in Social Studies and Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. In 2008, Koh was appointed a judge on the Superior Court of California for Santa Clara County by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and held the position until becoming a U.S. district judge in 2010.
If confirmed, she will be the second Korean-American federal judge after Herbert Choi, the first Asian American to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals and the first Korean American to be admitted to the bar in the United States.