President Obama Nominates Randolph Moss for U.S. District Court Judge, Following Norton’s Recommendation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) spoke by phone with Randolph Moss yesterday 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. Moss is currently a partner at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (Wilmer Hale), where he chairs the firm’s Regulatory and Government Affairs Department.

“Randolph Moss’s brilliance as a lawyer in the public and private sector, and his professional reputation, stood out among the many exceptionally well-qualified candidates,” said Norton. “He will be a very able addition to our distinguished bench.”

Before rejoining Wilmer Hale in 2001, Moss worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, for five years, and was ultimately appointed by President Clinton, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel. Moss began his legal career clerking for Justice John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court, and Judge Pierre Leval, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Moss is a graduate of Hamilton College, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the law review.

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 Moss 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 seven 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 and Christopher “Casey” Cooper. Wilkins was recently elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Another Norton recommendation, Tanya Chutkan, was nominated by the President, has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.

Norton’s Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission is still accepting applications for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle will take senior status on June 3, 2014, creating a vacancy. Applications are due before 5:00 p.m. on April 14, 2014. Applications are available online on Norton’s website at: https://norton.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/norton-evo.house.gov/files/us-district-court-judge-questionnaire_and_waiver.pdf. Applicants must submit two completed hard-copies of the application and 20 USB flash drives (thumb drives) containing the completed application to: Pauline A. Schneider, Ballard Spahr LLP, 1909 K Street, NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-1157. Applicants who have filed an application within the past 12 months may simply provide a cumulative update of relevant information since the date of their last application.

Published: April 4, 2014