President Obama Nominates Four to Serve on the United States District Court Bench
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Elizabeth Foote, Judge Mark Goldsmith, Marc Treadwell and Judge Josephine Tucker to be United States District Court judges.
“These men and women have had distinguished legal careers and I am honored to ask them to continue their work as judges on the federal bench,” said President Obama. “They will serve the American people with integrity and an unwavering commitment to justice.”
Elizabeth Erny Foote: Nominee for the United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana
Elizabeth Erny Foote is a partner in The Smith Foote Law Firm, LLP, in Alexandria, Louisiana, where she specializes in commercial business litigation and counseling, insurance defense and medical malpractice defense. She has been in full-time practice in Alexandria since 1979. She served as President of the Louisiana State Bar Association from 2008-09. She also co-chaired the Bar's Disaster Relief Committee in 2005 and served as president of the Louisiana Civil Justice Center, the organization it established to serve the legal needs of the community in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Ms. Foote received her B.A., with honors, from Louisiana State University in 1974, her M.A. from Duke University in 1975, and her J.D. from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1978.
Mark A. Goldsmith: Nominee for the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
Judge Mark A. Goldsmith is a Circuit Court Judge in Oakland County, Michigan. Judge Goldsmith has served as a state court trial judge since March 2004, presiding over criminal and civil matters. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Goldsmith was a litigation partner at the law firm of Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn in Detroit, where he worked since 1987, and also litigated at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York following law school. He has served as an adjunct instructor at Wayne State Law School, teaching pretrial litigation. Judge Goldsmith is a former President of the Eastern District of Michigan chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He helped establish the Circle of Friends program, which teaches language and acculturation skills to new immigrants, in Oakland County, and also established JUST US, a continuing judicial education program for the Oakland County Circuit Court and Probate Court bench. Judge Goldsmith received his B.A., with high distinction, in 1974 from the University of Michigan. He received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977.
Marc Thomas Treadwell: Nominee for the United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia
Marc Thomas Treadwell is a shareholder and partner with Adams, Jordan and Treadwell, P.C., in Macon, Georgia, where he has specialized in personal injury and wrongful death actions since 2000. Prior to that, he worked as an attorney with Chambless Higdon and Carson, LLP, and Kilpatrick and Cody, where he represented clients in civil litigation. Treadwell is an active member and current President of the William Augustus Bootle Inn of Court and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He has been listed in Georgia Super Lawyers and was recently inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Treadwell received his B.A. from Valdosta State University in 1978, and a J.D. from Mercer University in 1981.
Josephine Staton Tucker: Nominee for the United States District Court, Central District of California
Judge Josephine Staton Tucker is a California Superior Court Judge, which is California’s trial-level court. Judge Tucker has served as a state court judge in the County of Orange since 2002, and her tenure has included assignments presiding over criminal, family, and civil law matters. Judge Tucker has also served on the California Court of Appeals on temporary assignment by order of the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Tucker litigated employment law cases on behalf of both individuals and corporations at Morrison & Foerster LLP, where she worked as a partner and an associate from 1987 to 2002. Judge Tucker received her B.A., summa cum laude, in 1983 from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. After receiving her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1986, Judge Tucker served as a law clerk to the Honorable John R. Gibson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.