President Obama Nominates Six to the United States District Court, 11/17/10

WASHINGTON- Today, President Obama nominated Judge Cathy Bissoon, Vincent L. Briccetti, Roy B. Dalton, Jr., Sara Lynn Darrow, Judge John A. Kronstadt, and Kevin H. Sharp to seats on the United States District Court.
“I am pleased to nominate these distinguished individuals to serve on the United States District Court bench,” said President Obama.  “I am confident they will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.”

Judge Cathy Bissoon:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Judge Cathy Bissoon serves as United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania, a position she has held in the Court’s Pittsburgh Division since 2008.  From 2007 until her appointment to the bench, she was in private practice in Pittsburgh as a director of the law firm of Cohen & Grigsby, where she led the labor law practice.  Previously, Judge Bissoon was a partner in the law firm of Reed Smith from 2001 to 2007 and an associate at the same firm beginning in 1993.  From 1994 to 1995, she was a law clerk to the Honorable Gary L. Lancaster of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  She received her J.D. in 1993 from Harvard Law School, and her B.A. (summa cum laude) in 1990 from Alfred University.

Vincent L. Briccetti:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Vincent L. Briccetti is a partner in the law firm of Briccetti, Calhoun & Lawrence, LLP, in White Plains, New York, where he specializes in white collar criminal defense.  He started his own firm in 1992, in which he was later joined by his now-partners.  From 1985 to 1989, Briccetti served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he became Deputy Chief of Appeals.  He worked in private practice as an associate, from 1989 to 1992 at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky, & Walker in Stamford, Connecticut, and from 1982 to 1984 at Townley & Updike in New York City.  From 1980 to 1982, Briccetti was a law clerk to the Honorable John Cannella of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  He received his J.D. in 1980 from Fordham University School of Law and his B.A. in 1976 from Columbia University.

Roy B. Dalton, Jr.:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Roy B. Dalton, Jr., is a partner in the law firm of Dalton & Carpenter, PA., in Orlando, Florida and Of Counsel in the Carlyle Appellate Law Firm in The Villages, Florida.  Dalton has spent 33 years as a civil litigator, primarily as a sole practitioner and in small partnerships in the Orlando area.  He also served as counsel to then-U.S. Senator Mel Martinez from 2005 to 2006.  Dalton is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and he is Board Certified in Civil Trial Practice by the Florida Bar.  He received his J.D. in 1976 from the University of Florida and his B.A. in 1974 also from the University of Florida.

Sara Lynn Darrow:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Sara Lynn Darrow serves as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, where she is chief of the violent crimes section.  Since joining the United States Attorney’s Office in 2003, Darrow has prosecuted significant criminal cases involving firearms, drugs, gangs, fraud, money laundering, and corruption.  From 1999 to 2003, Darrow worked in the Henry County State’s Attorney’s Office in Cambridge, Illinois. She received her J.D. in 1997 from Saint Louis University School of Law and her B.A. in 1992 from Marquette University.

Judge John A. Kronstadt:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Judge John A. Kronstadt serves as a Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he has presided over criminal, civil, and family law matters since 2002.  Prior to his appointment to the bench, he spent 24 years in private practice, including seventeen years as a law firm partner in Los Angeles (at Arnold & Porter LLP from 2000 to 2002 and at Blanc Williams Johnston & Kronstadt from 1985 to 2000) during which time he specialized in complex civil litigation.  Judge Kronstadt began his law practice in the Washington, D.C. office of Arnold & Porter, where he was a partner from 1984 to 1985 and an associate from 1978 to 1983.  From 1976 to 1977, he was a law clerk to the Honorable William P. Gray of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He received his J.D. in 1976 from Yale Law School and his B.A. in 1973 from Cornell University.

Kevin H. Sharp:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
Kevin H. Sharp is a partner in the law firm of Drescher & Sharp, P.C., in Nashville, Tennessee, where his practice focuses on federal court litigation.  Before co-founding his current firm in 2003, he spent a majority of his legal career at the firm of Stokes, Bartholomew, Evans & Petree, where he was a partner from 2001 to 2003 and an associate from 1993 to 1996 and 1997 to 2001.  Sharp was as an attorney in the Office of Compliance of the U.S. Congress from 1996 to 1997.  Prior to college, from 1982 to 1986, he served in the United States Navy, specializing in in-flight communications aboard the P-3 Orion.  He received his J.D. in 1993 from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and his B.S. (summa cum laude) in 1990 from Christian Brothers College.