Pamela K. Chen confirmed to Federal Bench

On Monday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Pamela K. Chen to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Her confirmation makes her the first openly gay, Asian American person to preside on a federal bench: Lesbian Judge Pamela Chen Appointed to Federal Bench.

Chen, who was nominated by President Obama in August with a recommendation by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, was confirmed with little opposition. She also becomes the second Chinese American woman and one of only a few out lesbians to hold one of the country's 900 lifetime federal judgeship appointments.

derrick kahala watson appointed to federal bench

Today, President Barack Obama nominated Derrick Kahala Watson, an assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the civil division for the District of Hawaii, to a seat on the U.S. District Court in Honolulu: President Obama Nominates Seven to the United States District Courts.

Watson was one of seven nominees to District Court judgeships announced by the White House. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would be the only person of Native Hawaiian ancestry on the federal bench. Here's some more information on his background:

Lucy H. Koh confirmed to federal judgeship

Koh is the first Asian American judge on the Bay Area federal bench.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Lucy Koh was confirmed Monday to a federal judgeship in San Jose, making her the first Asian American to ever gain a spot on the Bay Area federal bench.

Santa Clara County judge becomes first Asian-American federal judge in Bay Area history.

Koh will fill the seat of veteran San Jose U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte, who has taken semi-retired status. In addition to giving northern California its first Asian federal judge, Koh also becomes the only current Korean American federal judge in the nation and just the second in history.

Obama nominates Judge Lucy Koh to federal bench

If confirmed, Koh would become the first Korean American federal court judge in the country.

On Wednesday, President Obama nominated Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Lucy H. Koh for a federal judgeship in California's Northern District Court. If confirmed, she would become the first Korean American federal court judge in the country.

Obama nominates Santa Clara County Judge Lucy Koh to federal bench.

Although relatively new to the state court bench, Koh has an extensive background in federal practice as a lawyer, working as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and Washington. She also was a partner at the McDermott, Will and Emery law firm in Palo Alto, representing technology companies in patent, trade secret and commercial civil cases.

Before her state court appointment, Koh was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California from 1997 to 2000. Previously, she served as special assistant to the U.S. deputy attorney general in Washington, D.C., and special counsel for the U.S.