Bush Nominates Local Prosecutor and Judge For Federal Judgeships

By Staff Reporter of the Sun | March 13, 2008

At the suggestion of Senator Schumer, President Bush has nominated a Manhattan prosecutor and Brooklyn magistrate judge for vacancies on the federal bench.

The nominees, announced by the White House this week, are Cathy Seibel, who served as a top deputy to the Manhattan U.S. attorney, Michael Garcia, for the last three years, and Kiyo Matsumoto, who was a civil attorney for the Department of Justice and is now a magistrate judge in Brooklyn. Magistrate judges handle cases for federal judges during the early stages of a given litigation. Mr. Schumer had recommended both candidates for federal judgeships last November. Mr. Bush has agreed to allow Mr. Schumer to pick about half of the candidates for federal judicial vacancies in New York in return for the senator's support on Mr. Bush's other nominees to the federal bench in New York, according to a source with knowledge of the arrangement.

Ms. Seibel was nominated to U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Ms. Matsumoto was nominated to a space on the district court in Brooklyn.