The U.S. Court Appeals for the Second Circuit is on the verge of achieving a full complement of active judges following the endorsement by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week of President Barack Obama’s latest nominee for the court. Connecticut District Judge Christopher Droney’s nomination moves ahead to the full Senate after a voice vote by the committee. A final confirmation vote by the Senate is likely several weeks or months away. Mr. Droney would fill the vacancy created two years ago when Judge Guido Calabresi took senior status. The position is the last one open among 13 active judgeships.
Mr. Obama’s first nominee for the seat, District Judge Robert Chatigny, was held up by Republicans over his handling of a death-penalty case (NYLJ, April 29, 2010). His nomination expired in December, and Mr. Obama did not re-nominate him (NYLJ, Jan. 11). Mr. Droney has been on the district court in Connecticut since 1997, after spending four years as the state’s U.S. attorney. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, R-R.I., a member of the Judiciary Committee, served alongside Mr. Droney and praised him as a leader among Clinton-era prosecutors. Mr. Droney is a former partner at Reid & Riege, and he has a background in local politics, having served four years as the mayor of West Hartford, and as the state chairman of Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 1988.
