US President Donald Trump nominates Indian-American Shireen Matthews to federal judgeship
Washington, Sep 1: President Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American Shireen Mathews as a judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
If confirmed, Matthews will be the first Asian Pacific American woman and first Indian-American to serve as an Article III federal judge in the Southern District, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) said.
Article III judges "hold their office during good behavior", which means they have a lifetime appointment, except under very limited circumstances. Article III judges can be removed from office only through impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate.
Currently, Matthews is a partner at Jones Day, the fifth-largest law firm in the country, in San Diego.
Prior to joining the firm, Matthews served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California. Before entering government service, Matthews was an associate with Latham and Watkins LLP in San Diego, the White House said in a statement.
NAPABA has applauded Trump's intent to nominate Matthews.
"Shireen Matthews is [an] experienced attorney, both in the public and private sectors. She will be a well-qualified addition to the bench in the Southern District of California," NAPABA President Daniel Sakaguchi said in the release.
Sakaguchi said that the potential nominee is dedicated to "serving her community and promoting diversity in the legal profession" and has served as a former president of the San Diego's chapter of the South Asian Bar Association.
Matthews earned her BA, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and her law degree, cum laude, from Duke University School of Law.
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Momo seller dies by suicide in Jalpaiguri after name omitted from voters’ list
Jalpaiguri (WB): A momo vendor in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri town died by suicide on Tuesday, with family members alleging that he had been distressed after his name was removed from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
According to IANS the deceased is identified as Gouranga De, who lived in a rented house with his wife and their son, under Ward 11. Police discovered the body on Tuesday morning and sent it for post-mortem.
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According to his family, De had been casting his vote for nearly four decades and they said his name did not appear in the 2002 voter list. De was subsequently called for a hearing during the recent revision process. Family members stated that he submitted the documents and information available with him at the time.
After the final electoral roll was published on February 27, De’s name was found to have been omitted, with “deleted” marked against it. His relatives and neighbours said he had been anxious since learning about the removal.
His landlord said De repeatedly expressed concern about what would happen to him after his name was struck off the list. “He was worried ever since his name was removed. He kept asking what would happen to him. The body was recovered this morning and now what will happen to this family?” he said.
De’s wife told local reporters that he did not have parents or grandparents and was therefore unable to furnish additional supporting details beyond the documents he had already submitted during the SIR hearing. She said the omission left him deeply upset.
Chairman of Jalpaiguri Municipality, Saikat Chatterjee, visited the family after receiving information about the incident, terming it unfortunate and called for accountability.. He was quoted by The News Minute as saying that De had approached him after finding his name missing from the list. Chatterjee had assisted him in submitting Form 6 online.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
