THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

              PRESIDENT CLINTON NOMINATES J. RICH LEONARD, 
                 MARSHA J. PECHMAN, CARLOS MURGUIA, AND 
               WILLIAM HASKELL ALSUP TO THE FEDERAL BENCH

The President today nominated J. Rich Leonard to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Marsha J. Pechman to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Carlos Murguia to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, and William Haskell Alsup to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Judge J. Rich Leonard, of Raleigh, North Carolina, has been a Judge on the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina since 1992. Prior to this appointment, he was the Clerk of Court from 1979 to 1992 and a U.S. Magistrate Judge from 1981 to 1992 for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In addition, he has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1995 and at North Carolina Central University School of Law from 1985 to 1986 and 1995 to 1997. Judge Leonard received a B.A. in 1971 and a M. Ed. in 1973 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a J.D. in 1976 from Yale Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable F.T. Dupree, Jr. of the Eastern District of North Carolina from 1976 to 1978 and was an associate with the firm of Sanford, Adams, McCullough & Beard from 1978 to 1979.

Judge Marsha J. Pechman, of Seattle, Washington, has been a judge on the King County Superior Court since 1988. Prior to this appointment, she was an associate and partner with the firm of Levinson, Friedman, Vhugen, Duggan, Bland & Horowitz from 1981 to 1988. Judge Pechman previously held several academic appointments, including Clinical Professor and Director of the Law Practice Clinic with the University of Puget Sound School of Law from 1986 to 1987, Instructor and Staff Attorney with the University of Washington School of Law from 1979 to 1981, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Washington School of Law from 1983 to 1987. From 1976 to 1979, she served with the King County Prosecutor's Office as a Deputy Prosecutor. Judge Pechman received her B.A. in 1973 from Cornell University and her J.D. in 1976 from Boston University.

Judge Carlos Murguia, of Kansas City, Kansas, has served as a judge on the Wyandotte County District Court since 1990. He previously served as a full-time Hearing Officer in 1990, a part-time Hearing Officer and judge pro tem from 1984 to 1990, and a part-time Small Claims Court Judge from 1984 to 1990 for the Wyandotte County District Court. In addition, Judge Murguia coordinated the Immigration Amnesty Program with El Centro, Inc. from 1985 to 1990, and was an associate with Zeigler Legal Services from 1982 to 1985. Judge Murguia received his B.S. in 1979 and his J.D. in 1982 from the University of Kansas.

Mr. William Haskell Alsup, of Oakland, California, has practiced with the firm of Morrison & Foerster, L.L.P. as an associate and a partner from 1973 to 1978 and from 1980 to the present. He has also served as Special Counsel to the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1998 to the present; as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States from 1978 to 1980; and as an attorney with the firm of Pyles & Tucker from 1972 to 1973. Mr. Alsup received his B.S. in 1967 from Mississippi State University and his J.D. in 1971 from Harvard Law School. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable William O. Douglas of the U.S. Supreme Court.

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