Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators are both pleased by the appointment of Judge Pamela Pepper as U.S. Federal District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Pepper, of Milwaukee, was confirmed Thursday by the Senate to replace Charles Clevert.
The 50-year-old Pepper was appointed by President Obama in May, one of three candidates recommended by a state selection panel headed by Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin. She was a federal prosecutor and a private defense lawyer before becoming a federal bankruptcy judge in 2005. She’ll soon leave her post as Milwaukee’s chief bankruptcy judge.
Johnson said Pepper’s intellectual curiosity and adherence to the rule of law would serve the people of Wisconsin’s eastern district well. Baldwin said Pepper will be an “outstanding judge.” She was among 20 judicial nominees that Democrats were trying to confirm before the current session ends next month. Had she not been approved by then, Pepper would have had to go through the complete confirmation process again.