A majority of the Southern District of Florida bench has selected two federal attorneys—a public defender and a prosecutor—to become U.S. magistrate judges.

Charlton Copeland, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law, is not involved in the selection of the appointees—Panayotta Augustin-Birch, a federal public defender based in Fort Pierce, and Eduardo Sanchez, a prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami. While Copeland did not remark specifically on either candidate, one will bring civil experience to the court.

Charlton Copeland of UM Law. (Credit: University of Miami School of Law) Charlton Copeland of UM Law. (Credit: University of Miami School of Law)