THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                          (New York, New York)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  September 7, 2000

              PRESIDENT CLINTON NOMINATES VALERIE K. COUCH
                          TO THE FEDERAL BENCH

     The President today nominated Valerie K. Couch to the U.S. District

Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Valerie K. Couch, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma since March, 1999. Judge Couch also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Oklahoma City University Law School. Prior to becoming a magistrate judge, she worked at the law firm of Harzog Conger & Cason, P.C. as an associate (1983-1988) and then shareholder and director (1988-1999). Judge Couch received her B.A. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1974, her M.A. degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1978, and her J.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1983.

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