Sen. Schumer recommends 3 candidates for spots on federal bench in New York’s Eastern, Southern Districts

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has recommended three high-powered lawyers, including a current U.S. magistrate judge, to fill openings on New York’s federal district court bench, his office said Thursday.

Schumer recommended the Biden administration nominate Ramon Reyes, the federal magistrate judge, and Orelia Merchant, a top lawyer in the state attorney general’s office, to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, according to the senator’s office.

Reyes has served as magistrate judge of the Eastern District of New York since 2006. Merchant, New York’s chief deputy attorney general for state counsel, previously worked in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.

Schumer also recommended Arun Subramanian, a partner at the law firm Susman Godfrey, for the prestigious U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Subramanian once clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In a statement, Schumer praised Reyes for his “temperament and skillset,” lauded Merchant’s “professionalism and integrity” and said Subramanian has “broad and deep legal expertise.”

“These three exceptional and knowledgeable attorneys would bring their extensive experience on environmental protection, consumer protection, civil rights, and relief for families to the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York,” Schumer said in the statement.

“I am confident that these three dedicated and hardworking attorneys will bring integrity and professionalism to the federal courts,” the statement added. “They will follow the law where it takes them, in the pursuit of fair and impartial justice.”

The trio would need to be nominated by President Biden and then approved by the Senate in order to move forward to the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District and Eastern District of New York.