BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
The U.S. Senate, in a 50-45 vote, today (Dec. 13) confirmed federal judge Lucy Koh to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Koh, 53, a Stanford resident, is President Biden’s first appointee to the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit, which takes cases from nine states and two U.S. territories.
On Thursday, the Senate voted 51-38 to consider her nomination. She received votes from three Republicans in the closely-divided Senate — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
As a federal judge at the San Jose courthouse, Koh has presided over many tech industry cases and the issue of what restrictions should apply to churches during the pandemic.
Koh was criticized by the Republicans of the Senate Judiciary Committee for her decision that shut down churches during the pandemic. That ruling was overturned 5-4 by the Supreme Court.
Koh lives on the Stanford campus with her husband, former California Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, and they have two children.
In 2016, President Obama picked her for the 9th Circuit, but the Republican-controlled Senate let federal judge nominations expire so President Trump could select new nominees.
I was going to object that she looks too young for such an important position, but then I realized that these days EVERYONE looks far too young.