Obama Taps Justice Official for Court of International Trade Judgeship
President Barack Obama plans to nominate Jeanne Davidson as a judge on the Court of International Trade (CIT), the White House said Aug. 18. Davidson currently works at the Justice Department as director of the International Trade Field Office in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division, as well as the offices of Foreign Litigation and International Legal Assistance, the White House said. She is also president of the Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA). In the early 1990s, Davidson served as associate general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. If confirmed, she will take an open spot created by the recent retirement of CIT Judge Donald Pogue (see 14062422).
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Davidson's role as president of the Federal Circuit Bar Association reflects “the high regard the bar community holds” for her, said FCBA executive director James Brookshire. “It’s a terrific nomination,” said Brookshire said in an interview. “She will be a genuine asset to the federal judiciary. We are enthusiastically supportive of her nomination.” She’s shown a knack both as a litigator and as a manager while with the Justice Department, he said. Davidson has also been active in other bar groups, including the Customs and International Trade Bar Association (CITBA), he said.
CITBA President Joseph Dorn also lauded the nomination. “CITBA applauds the President’s nomination of Jeanne Davidson to the Court of International Trade," he said in an emailed statement. "We have known Ms. Davidson from her work at the Court of International Trade and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as well as through her service as a member of the CITBA Board. She is an excellent candidate.”
It will ultimately be up to Davidson to decide her continued level of involvement with the associations, though she will always be welcome within the FCBA, said Brookshire. Her engagement within the bar associations would likely help Davidson as a judge as such groups help encourage the development of legal skills and “respect for the rule of law,” he said. “With that, a lawyer who is involved in bar association activity actually has the opportunity to mature as a professional, and that’s an important asset for any lawyer at any time.” The exposure to multiple practice areas within such groups allows for more familiarity both with the “expertise with his or her practice area” but also with other practice areas, he said.