President Obama Nominates Three to Serve on the United States District Courts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama nominated James D. Peterson, Nancy J. Rosenstengel and Judge Ronnie L. White for District Court judgeships.

"These individuals have demonstrated the talent, expertise, and fair-mindedness Americans expect and deserve from their judicial system," said President Obama.  "I am grateful for their willingness to serve and confident that they will apply the law with the utmost impartiality and integrity."

James D. Peterson: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

James D. Peterson is a shareholder at the law firm of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., where he is a member of the litigation and intellectual property practice groups and heads the firm’s intellectual property litigation working group.  Previously, Peterson worked as a law clerk for Judge David Deininger of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals from 1998 to 1999.  Peterson received his J.D. in 1998 from the University of Wisconsin Law School.  Prior to his career in law, Peterson was a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame.  He received his Ph.D. in 1986, his M.A. in 1984, and his B.S. in 1979, all from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Nancy J. Rosenstengel:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

Nancy J. Rosenstengel has served as Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois since 2009.  From 1998 to 2009, Rosenstengel served as a career law clerk to Judge G. Patrick Murphy of the Southern District of Illinois.  Previously, she worked at the law firm of Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard from 1993 to 1998, where her practice primarily involved products liability, medical malpractice and Jones Act litigation.  Rosenstengel received her J.D. cum laude in 1993 from the Southern Illinois University School of Law and her B.A. cum laude in 1990 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Judge Ronnie L. White:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Judge Ronnie L. White has been a partner in the St. Louis law firm of Holloran White Schwartz & Gaertner LLP since 2007.  Since 1996, he has also served as an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.  From 1995 to 2007, Judge White served as a judge on the Missouri Supreme Court, and he served as Chief Justice from 2003 to 2005.  In 1994, he was appointed to be a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District where he remained until his elevation to the Missouri Supreme Court.  Judge White was appointed City Counselor for St. Louis from 1993 to 1994 and worked at the Law Offices of Cahill, White & Hemphill from 1988 to 1993.  During that same time period, Judge White was elected three times to the Missouri House of Representatives.  From 1987 to 1988, he worked both for the law firm of Young, Russell, Crawford & Black, and for the Office of the Special Public Defender.  He began his legal career by working as a trial attorney in the Office of the Public Defender in St. Louis.  Judge White received his J.D. in 1983 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and his B.A. in 1979 from the St. Louis University.