Obama nominates Silicon Valley judge to appellate court
President Barack Obama Thursday nominated a federal judge who has presided over patent feuds between Apple and Samsung and other major Silicon Valley fights to the nation's largest federal appellate court.
The White House announced the nomination of U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with Obama calling Koh a "first-rate jurist with unflagging integrity and evenhandedness."
Koh, 47, is based in San Jose, California, and has presided over cases involving some of Silicon Valley's biggest companies, among them the patent fight between Apple and Samsung over smartphones. Koh two years ago tossed out an effort to win class-action status for a lawsuit accusing Google of violating the privacy terms of email users. The same year, she rejected a $324 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging Google and Apple conspired with other technology companies to restrict employee recruiting.
Before serving as a federal judge in 2010, Koh was appointed to a California judgeship by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
She has also served as a federal prosecutor and worked for law firms.
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