President Obama has nominated two attorneys from the same California law firm to fill vacancies on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The court said in a statement Thursday that Obama selected former federal prosecutor John B. Owens and antitrust litigator Michelle T. Friedland for the San Francisco-based court that hears appeals from nine western states.
Owens, a native of Washington, D.C., works in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. Friedland, a Berkeley native, works in the same firm's San Francisco office. Both are 41 years old.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Owens would fill a judgeship vacant since April of this year. The seat Friedland would occupy has been vacant since December of 2004.
