President Obama Names Three to United States District Court

WASHINGTON- Today, President Obama nominated Judge Anthony Joseph Battaglia, Judge Edward J. Davila and Robert L. Wilkins to seats on the United States District Court.

“These distinguished individuals have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to justice throughout their careers,” said President Obama.  “I am grateful for their decision to serve the American people from the District Court bench.”

Judge Anthony Joseph Battaglia:  Nominee for United States District Court, Southern District of California
Judge Anthony Joseph Battaglia serves as a Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of California, a position he has held since 1993.  He is a former president of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association (2008) and of the San Diego County Bar Association (1992).  Prior to taking the bench, Judge Battaglia spent nineteen years as a civil litigator in San Diego specializing in personal injury, products liability, and maritime law.  He first practiced with the Law Offices of John Marin from 1974 to 1980, then as a sole practitioner from 1980 to 1991, and finally with the firm of Battaglia, Fitzpatrick & Battaglia from 1991 to 1993.  Judge Battaglia earned his J.D. in 1974 from the California Western School of Law and his B.A. in 1971 from United States International University.  He previously studied at San Diego Mesa Junior College.

Judge Edward J. Davila:  Nominee for United States District Court, Northern District of California
Judge Edward J. Davila serves as a judge of the Superior Court of California, a position he has held since 2001.  Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Davila spent twenty years as a trial lawyer, first as a Deputy Public Defender in the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office from 1981to 1988 and later in private practice at the law firm of Davila & Polverino from 1988 to 2001.  He also has taught trial advocacy course sessions at Stanford Law School, Santa Clara University School of Law, and the University of San Francisco School of Law.  Judge Davila received his J.D. in 1979 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and his B.A. in 1976 from the California State University at San Diego.

Robert L. Wilkins:  Nominee for United States District Court, District of Columbia
Robert L. Wilkins is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Venable LLP, where he practices primarily in corporate defense/white collar, technology, and commercial litigation.  Previously, Mr. Wilkins was an attorney with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where he was chief of special litigation from 1996 to 2000, and where he has served as a trustee from 2002 to 2007 and as vice chair from 2007 to 2008.  The Legal Times has named Mr. Wilkins one of the 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years.  He was a founding member of the D.C. Access to Justice Commission and he has served on the D.C. Advisory Commission on Sentencing, the D.C. Truth-In-Sentencing Commission, and the D.C. Juvenile Justice Advisory Group.  As president of the National African American Museum & Cultural Complex, he helped to plan and create the National Museum of African American History and Culture within the Smithsonian Institution.  Following law school, Mr. Wilkins clerked for Judge Earl B. Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.  Mr. Wilkins is a native of Muncie, Indiana.  He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1989 and his B.S. from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1986.