President Obama nominated two Latino judges from Philadelphia to fill in vacant seats for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro and Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo, along with Judge Jeffrey L. Schmeh, were nominated by the President Tuesday morning and are waiting to hear a majority vote by the Senate on the final decision. The Pennsylvania senators, Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Pat Toomey, immediately supported the nominees.
“I think it’s terrific that we have two highly qualified Latinos nominated to the federal bench with the support of both senators from Pennsylvania,” says Romulo Diaz, former City Solicitor.
If confirmed by the Senate, Quiñones would become the first openly gay Latina to serve on the federal bench. Quiñones was previously the first Latina to serve as a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas when she was appointed in 1991.
“These nominees are emblematic of the President’s commitment to nominating qualified, diverse nominees to the federal bench,” says Marge Baker of People For The American Way. “They are also a sign of the president’s commitment to solving the vacancy crisis in our federal courts without delay.”
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