Edward Chen
Edward Chen, 58, nominated by President Obama to become a federal judge in San Francisco nearly two years ago, was confirmed by the Senate. The vote was 56–42.
His nomination had been pending since August 2009, longer than any of Obama’s other judicial candidates. Republican opposition had prevented a Senate vote.
Chen was a federal magistrate in San Francisco since 2001, appointed by the district’s judges to hear bail motions and other preliminary matters and preside over trials with both parties’ consent.
Chen received his judicial commission on May 12.
Born and raised in Oakland, Chen earned a bachelor’s degree in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1979. ♦