U.S. Senate confirms Bissoon as district judge
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The U.S. Senate on Monday voted to confirm Cathy Bissoon, 43, to the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, but the commonwealth still has empty bench seats waiting to be filled.
The 82-3 vote came with support from Republican Sen. Pat Toomey and Democrat Sen. Bob Casey.
Judge Bissoon has been a U.S. magistrate judge since 2008. She first moved to Pittsburgh in 1993 to work for Reed Smith after graduating from Harvard Law School. At Reed Smith, Judge Bissoon specialized in labor and employment law, a field Mr. Toomey said makes her particularly qualified to serve in Western Pennsylvania.
Before law school, Judge Bissoon attended Alfred University in New York and graduated in 1990 with a degree in political science. She was born and raised in New York City.
Judge Bissoon was first nominated for the position under Mr. Casey and former Sen. Arlen Specter, but Mr. Toomey said he also endorsed the appointment after meeting her earlier this year.
"She stressed to me in that conversation that she understands very well a judge's role is to enforce the law as written, regardless of the judge's personal beliefs about that law," he said Monday night.
In July, Judge Bissoon was unanimously nominated by the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with two others hoping to fill Pennsylvania's vacant district courts bench. But the Senate hasn't voted on the other two candidates -- Mark Hornak, also for the Western District, and Robert Mariani, for the Middle District. All three appointments were made by President Barack Obama last year.
Before the vote, both Mr. Casey and Mr. Toomey stressed the need to fill the vacant positions more quickly. Once a district court judge is confirmed by the Senate, the office is a lifetime term.
First Published October 18, 2011 12:00 am
