The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the confirmations of Bradford County attorney Matthew W. Brann and U.S. Magistrate Judge Malachy E. Mannion to become federal district judges in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, a spokesman for Sen. Bob Casey said late Friday night.
The Senate action on Friday helps fill two long-standing judicial vacancies in the Middle District, which encompasses federal district courts in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg and Williamsport.
The nominations of Judge Mannion, a Democrat from Scott Twp., and Mr. Brann, a Republican from Canton, grew out of a process established by Mr. Casey, a Democrat, and Pat Toomey, a Republican.
Currently, Judge Mannion holds the magistrate post in federal court in Wilkes-Barre.
Judge Mannion's "confirmation is another step in a life of committed public service. I have known Mal for years and he is an excellent lawyer whose integrity is beyond reproach," Mr. Casey said in a statement. "Matthew Brann, along with an impressive career in private practice, has demonstrated a commitment to the community that will make him an outstanding judge."
President Barack Obama nominated them in May.
The Senate had to approve their nominations before they can assume the positions. They still need to be sworn in before they can take cases.
In the Middle District, the court handles hundreds of criminal and civil criminal cases annually, and has been the center of several public corruption cases in recent years, including the successful prosecutions of state Senator Robert J. Mellow, former Lackawanna County Commissioners Robert Cordaro and A.J. Munchak and former Luzerne County judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan.
"I am grateful to Sen. Casey for working closely with me on a bipartisan basis to help nominate and confirm qualified, experienced individuals with unquestioned honestly and integrity," Sen. Toomey said. "I am confident these two judges will live up to these standards and will serve Pennsylvania well."
Mr. Brann is a partner at the law firm Brann, Williams, Caldwell & Sheetz, where he has worked on civil trial litigation, probate and estate planning and real estate transactions.
Before joining the firm in 1991, he served as a law clerk with the Bradford County Court Judge John C. Mott.
Mr. Brann received his law degree in 1990 from Pennsylvania State University's Dickinson School of Law and earned a bachelor's degree in 1987 from the University of Notre Dame.
Judge Mannion has many years of legal experience and has been a Middle District magistrate judge since 2001.
Previously, he was a principal with the law firm Hourigan, Kluger, Spohrer & Quinn. Before that, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District.
He is a 1972 Scranton Prep graduate and earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Scranton in 1976, according to his judicial biography.
He earned his law degree from Pace University School of Law in 1979.
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