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Federal Vacancies¶
Women, minorities apply in record numbers, spurred by the Obama factor¶
June 11, 2009¶
By: John Pacenti¶
he sea change in the White House seemed to signal to women and minority lawyers in South Florida that their time is now as they considered openings for federal judge and U.S. attorney in the Obama administration.¶
Web Extra:¶
List of applicants¶
Hispanic and black candidates populate both lists, and women make up half of the 20 applicants vying for the seat vacated when U.S. District Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley in West Palm Beach took senior status in February.¶
Gregory Samms, a black attorney who runs a Coral Gables law firm, said Obama’s victory in November encouraged qualified minority candidates to believe they would be evaluated fairly.¶
“Before, we couldn’t even get on the field. Now, we feel at least we can get on the field,” Samms said.¶
“I think the fact Obama was successful is encouraging more minorities to apply for these positions.”¶
The diversity of applicants comes after criticism of the makeup of the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission for a lack of women and minorities.¶
Attorney Marva Wiley, president of the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women’s Bar Association, said she is happy to see the attention paid to the commission’s makeup didn’t discourage women or minorities from applying.¶
U.S. Attorney and federal bench applicants
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good sign people feel the process is going to merit their participation,” Wiley said. “Sometimes¶
It’s a good sigh people feel the process is going to merit their participation, Wiley said. Sometimes people take themselves out of the game early because of what they perceive issues to be. It is encouraging to see that they put names in the hat to see what the outcome will be.”¶
The JNC will cut the list of applicants for individual public interviews set for mid-July. Three names for each position will be forward to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who will recommend a nominee to Obama after another round of interviews.¶
“We are talking about a district which has never had an African-American U.S. attorney, a district — with an exception of a temporary appointment — that has never had a woman as a U.S. attorney,” said Guy Lewis, a former U.S. attorney who is now a partner with Lewis Tein in Miami. “You look at the minority candidates, and they are strong candidates — former and current partners and judges.”¶
Among the minority applicants to succeed U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta are three black judges: Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes, head of the criminal division; Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Daryl Trawick; and Palm Beach County Court Judge Reginald Corlew. Hispanics Wilfredo Ferrer, an assistant Miami-Dade County attorney, and Lilly Ann Sanchez, a criminal litigator with Fowler White Burnett in Miami, also have put their names in the hopper.¶
“It’s great there is such diversity in the applications we are seeing this year,” said Charles Lichtman, an attorney with Berger Singerman and legal counsel for the Florida Democratic Party. “There are certainly terrific minority candidates and female candidates and to be sure male candidates. I see it extremely difficult to pare the list down.”¶
Roland Sanchez-Medina, president of the Cuban American Bar Association, agreed the Obama factor appears to be encouraging minorities to apply. “Listen, there’s an African-American man in the White House now,” he said.¶
Obama has made diversity a priority in his appointments. He most recently selected federal judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed by the Senate, she will become the first Hispanic on the high court.¶
Earlier this month, Acosta accepted the dean position at Florida International University’s law school in Miami. The Republican appointee knew his time was limited when Obama was elected. New presidents normally pick their own U.S. attorneys, especially when the party in office changes.¶
Federal prosecutor Jeffrey Sloman, Acosta’s top assistant, has stepped in as interim U.S. attorney to run the 284-attorney district stretching from Key West to Fort Pierce. Sloman applied to become Acosta’s permanent replacement along with 15 others.¶
“There is no more important district in the United States in terms of the types of cases, the number of cases,” Lewis said of the Southern District. “L.A. and New York may try to steal the thunder nationally, but the truth is Miami is absolutelv the World Series.”¶
Attorney Lisa Lehner, a board member of the Miami-Dade chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, said she was impressed three women applied for the U.S. attorney position.¶
“This is probably the first I’ve seen this number of women apply for the U.S. attorney’s office,” she said. “Women feel they actually have a shot at that one. There never has been a women in that position, and from what I understand, from what I hear, what I feel, that spot has opened for women.”¶
The 20-candidate list to replace Hurley is made up mostly of minorities and women.¶
Federal Public Defender Kathleen Williams, U.S. Magistrate Robin Rosenbaum and Miami-Dade Circuit Judges Mary Barzee Flores are among the female contenders.¶
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Some of the minority applicants vying for the bench include U.S. Magistrate Patrick A. White and Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judges Darrin Gayles and Jerald Bagley, who are black; Miami-Dade Circuit Judges Maria D. Ortiz and Peter R. Lopez; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Maria Martinez.¶
President Bush appointed the last federal judge to the South Florida bench in 2004. Marcia Cooke, a former federal magistrate in Detroit with strong ties to Jeb Bush, became the first black woman appointed a federal judge in the state.¶
Even though it’s important to get minority and women candidates in the mix, Lehner said qualifications matter most.¶
“These are two very important positions. The selection should be on merit. Nobody is saying the senator or the president should make the ultimate selection based on what group somebody fits in. That is not what this is all about. This is about the best person for the job,” she said.¶
Wiley said she remains “cautiously optimistic” as the selection process begins.¶
“Folks don’t want to get too confident before giving the process a chance to work itself and prove its validity,” she said.¶
John Pacenti can be reached at (305) 347-6638.¶
Former U.S. Attorney’s for The Southern District of Florida:¶
William Allison McArea – May 1828 – April 1829¶
John G. Stower – April 1829 – April 1830¶
John K. Campbell – April 1830 – May 1830¶
Edward Chandler – May 1830 – Oct. 1834¶
Adam Gordon – Oct. 1834 – Dec. 1834¶
Wylie P. Clark – Dec. 1834 – June 1835¶
William Marvin – June 1835 – March 1839¶
Charles Walker – March 1839 – July 1840¶
L. Windsor Smith – July 1840 – Aug. 1842¶
W. Macrae – Aug. 1842 – March 1847¶
L. Windsor Smith – March 1847 – Aug. 1850¶
William R. Hackley – Aug. 1850 – March 1858¶
John L. Tatum – March 1, 1858 – April 1861¶
Thomas Jefferson Boynton – April 5, 1861 – Oct. 1863¶
Homer G. Plantz – Oct. 1863 – Dec. 1869¶
Claiborn R. Mobley – Dec. 1869 – Aug. 1876¶
John Tyler – Aug. 1876 – Nov. 1877¶
B. Patterson – Nov. 1877 – March 1886¶
Livingstone W. Bethel – March 1886 – April 1890¶
G. Browne Patterson – April 1890 – July 1894¶
Owen J.H. Summers – July 1894 – Aug. 1894¶
Frank Clark – Nov. 1894 – July 1897¶
Joseph N. Stripling – July 1897 – Dec. 1905¶
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| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| John M. Cheney – Dec. 1905 – Oct. 1912 | |
| Richard P. Marks – Oct. 1912 – June 1913 | |
| Herbert S. Phillips – June 1913 – Oct. 1921, June 1936 – Aug. 1953 | |
| William M. Gober – Nov. 1921 – April 1929 | |
| Wilburn P. Hughes – April 1929 – July 1933 | |
| John W. Holland – July 1933 – June 1936 | |
| James I. Guilmartin – Aug. 1953 – Dec. 1959 | |
| E. Coleman Madsen – Dec. 1959 – April 1961 | |
| Edward G. Boardman – April 1961 – Oct. 1962 | |
| Edith House – Nov. 1962 – June 1963 | |
| William A. Meadows Jr. – June 1963 – Dec. 1969 | |
| Michael J. Osman – Dec. 1969 | |
| Robert W. Rust – Dec. 1969 – June 1977 | |
| Vincent K. Antle – June 1977 – Sept. 1977 | |
| Jacob Eskenazi – Sept. 1977 – March 1980 | |
| Atlee W. Wampler III – March 1980 – March 1982 | |
| Stanley I. Marcus – April 1982 – Aug. 1985 | |
| Leon B. Kellner – Aug. 1985 – June 1988 | |
| Dexter W. Lehtinen – June 1988 – Jan. 1992 | |
| James G. McAdams – Jan. 1992 – May 1992 | |
| Roberto Martinez – May 1992 – Sept. 1993 | |
| Kendall B. Coffey – Oct. 1993 – May 1996 | |
| William A. Keefer – June 1996 – Aug. 1997 | |
| Thomas E. Scott – Aug. 1997 – May 2000 | |
| Guy A. Lewis – June 2000 – Aug. 2002 | |
| Marcos D. Jimenez – Aug. 2002 – June 2005 | |
| R. Alexander Acosta – June 2005 – June 2009 |
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