Senate Confirms 2 N.Y. District Court Judges

The Senate confirmed the appointments yesterday of two New York district court judges, Paul Gardephe and Kiyo Matsumoto.

The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy, noted that both New York senators had supported the nominees.

"Our progress today in confirming two more nominations for lifetime appointments shows that when the President works with home state Senators to identify consensus, well-qualified nominees, we can make progress, even this late in an election year," Mr. Leahy said in a statement.

Mr. Gardephe, who will take a seat in the Southern District, has served since 2003 as chair of the litigation department of the firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. He also previously worked for the Department of Justice.

Ms. Matsumoto will take a seat in the Eastern District, where she has served as a magistrate judge since her appointment in 2004.

The Senate has yet to vote on Glenn Suddaby and Cathy Seibel, who have been nominated to the Northern and Southern districts, respectively.