Former Indiana justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nominated For Federal Bench Vacancies

Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com

President Barack Obama has announced his nominations for two federal judicial openings in Indiana.

Winfield Ong, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, is being nominated for the vacancy in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. This opening was created when Judge Sarah Evans Barker took senior status.

Myra Selby, former Indiana Supreme Court justice, has been nominated to fill the vacancy on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. She will fill the opening created by the retirement of Judge John Tinder.

Donnelly described Ong as a dedicated public servant who has “demonstrated the legal acumen and temperament necessary to serve Hoosiers well on the federal bench… .”

The senator also praised Selby, a partner at Ice Miller LLP, noting she was the first woman and first African-American to serve on the Indiana Supreme Court and the first African-American partner in a major Indianapolis law firm.

“Throughout her career, she has sought to ensure fairness to our courts and among our legal services providers and related organizations,” Donnelly said. “She would be a strong addition to the Seventh Circuit bench… .”

Donnelly urged his Senate colleagues to quickly consider their nominations.