President Obama Nominates First Asian Pacific American for U.S. District Court Judge, Following Norton’s Recommendation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) spoke by phone with Amit Mehta today to inform him that President Obama would nominate him to become a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, as recommended by the Congresswoman. Mehta is currently a partner in the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, where he has been recognized by several legal publications for his exemplary work, including Super Lawyers, The National Law Journal and Benchmark Litigation.

"Amit Mehta is very well-suited for our district court here," Norton said. "He has all the civil and criminal experience necessary to be an outstanding judge. His academic credentials and professional experience, particularly his 450 pro bono hours in the past four years, speak volumes about his character and his dedication to the legal system."

Mehta is a graduate of Georgetown University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Order of the Coif. He clerked for Judge Susan Graber, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. After clerking, Mr. Mehta worked at Zuckerman Spaeder as an associate for three years, and then worked for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) for five years. At PDS, he represented indigent criminal defendants in trials, appeals and administrative proceedings. He later rejoined Zuckerman Spaeder, where he has represented companies and individuals in a broad range of federal criminal matters, including bribery, political corruption, mail and wire fraud, export control and sanctions violations, and environmental crimes. He also has represented plaintiffs and defendants in federal civil matters, including antitrust and a Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action. In a pro bono capacity, he has devoted more than 450 hours since 2010 to post-conviction proceedings for an individual convicted of murder. He is also vice president of the board of directors of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. Mehta, who was born in India and moved with his family to the U.S. at the age of one, would be the first Asian Pacific American appointed to the district court in D.C.

President Obama, like President Clinton, granted Norton senatorial courtesy to recommend candidates for federal district court judges and other important federal law enforcement officials in the District. The Congresswoman recommended Mehta from a number of candidates screened by her Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission, chaired by Pauline Schneider, a special counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP and a former president of the D.C. Bar. President Obama has nominated and the Senate has confirmed eight of Norton's other recommendations for district court judges – Ketanji Brown Jackson, Amy Berman Jackson, James E. Boasberg, Rudolph Contreras, Beryl A. Howell, Robert L. Wilkins, Casey Cooper and Tanya Chutkan. Wilkins now serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Another Norton recommendation, Randolph Moss, was nominated by the President, has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.