President Obama Nominates Three to Serve on the US District Court

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Judge Sheri Polster Chappell, Katherine Polk Failla and Judge Troy L. Nunley to serve on the United States District Court.

“I am pleased to nominate these distinguished individuals to serve on the United States District Court bench,” said President Obama.  “I am confident they will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.”

Judge Sheri Polster Chappell:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Judge Sheri Polster Chappell currently serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Florida, a position she has held since 2003.  From 2000 to 2003, she served as a County Court Judge in Lee County, Florida.  Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Chappell served as an Assistant State Attorney in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida for thirteen years, from 1987 to 2000.  She received her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University Law School (formerly Nova Law Center) in 1987 and her B.A. in 1984 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Katherine Polk Failla:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Katherine Polk Failla has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York since 2000.  For the past four years, Failla has served as Chief of the Criminal Appeals Unit, having previously served as Deputy Chief of the Unit from 2004 to 2008.  Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Failla spent six year in private practice at the law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, where she handled commercial litigation and securities enforcement and litigation matters.  From 1993 to 1994, Failla clerked for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.  She received her J.D. cum laude in 1993 from Harvard Law School and her B.A. summa cum laude in 1990 from the College of William & Mary. 

Judge Troy L. Nunley: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Judge Troy L. Nunley has been a judge on the Sacramento County Superior Court since 2002.  Previously, Judge Nunley served as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Attorney General’s office from 1999 until 2002.  Apart from a two-year stint as a sole practitioner from 1994 to 1996, Judge Nunley spent the remainder of his legal career serving as a Deputy District Attorney, first in Alameda County, California from 1991 to 1994, and more recently in Sacramento County, California from 1996 to 1999.  He received his J.D. in 1990 from University of California, Hastings College of the Law and his B.A. in 1986 from St. Mary’s College of California.