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The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the United States Courts of Appeals

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Judge Julie E. Carnes and Judge Gregg Jeffrey Costa to serve on the United States Courts of Appeals. 

“Judges Carnes and Costa have displayed exceptional dedication to public service throughout their careers," President Obama said. "I am honored to nominate them today to serve the American people on the United States Courts of Appeals. I am confident that they will be judicious and esteemed additions to the Eleventh and the Fifth Circuits."

Judge Julie E. Carnes:  Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Judge Julie E. Carnes has served as a United States District Judge in the Northern District of Georgia since 1992 and has served as Chief Judge of the court since 2009.  Judge Carnes was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and received her J.D. magna cum laude in 1975 from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she served on the editorial board of the Georgia Law Review, and her B.A. summa cum laude in 1972 from the University of Georgia.  She began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge Lewis R. Morgan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1975 to 1977.  From 1978 to 1990, she was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia, serving as the Appellate Chief of the Criminal Division during most of her tenure.  From 1990 to 1996, Judge Carnes served as a Commissioner on the United States Sentencing Commission.  In addition to serving as Chief Judge of the Northern District of Georgia, Judge Carnes served on, and then chaired, the Criminal Law Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 2005 to 2010.  A present member of the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council, she also has served on the Eleventh Circuit Pattern Jury Instruction Committee and chaired the 2007 Planning Committee for the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference.

Judge Gregg Jeffrey Costa:  Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Judge Gregg Jeffrey Costa is a United States District Judge in the Southern District of Texas.  Judge Costa was raised in Richardson, Texas and received his B.A. in 1994 from Dartmouth College.  After graduating from college, Judge Costa taught elementary school from 1994 to 1996 in Sunflower, Mississippi through the Teach for America program.  He received his J.D. with highest honors in 1999 from the University of Texas School of Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the Texas Law Review.  From 1999 to 2000, Judge Costa served as a law clerk for Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  The following year, he was a Bristow Fellow at the Office of the Solicitor General in the United States Department of Justice.  From 2001 to 2002, he served as a law clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist of the United States Supreme Court.  After his clerkships, Judge Costa returned to Texas and worked as an associate at the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP from 2002 to 2005.  He then joined the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, where he focused on investigating and prosecuting fraud cases.  Judge Costa was one of the lead prosecutors of R. Allen Stanford, who was convicted of committing the second-largest Ponzi scheme in United States history.  Judge Costa remained at the United States Attorney’s Office until he was appointed to the United States Court for the Southern District of Texas in April 2012.