THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release June 30, 1995 PRESIDENT CLINTON NOMINATES FIVE TO THE FEDERAL BENCH The President today nominated four individuals to serve on the U.S. District Court: Barry T. Moskowitz to the Southern District of California, Stephen M. Orlofsky to the District of New Jersey, William K. Sessions, III to the District of Vermont, and Ortrie D. Smith to the Western District of Missouri. The President also nominated Donald C. Pogue to the U.S. Court of International Trade. Barry T. Moskowitz, 44, has served since 1986 as a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Prior to taking the bench, Moskowitz served as the Chief of the Financial Investigations and Forfeitures Unit for the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego, and practiced law with the New Jersey law firm of Williams, Caliri, Miller & Otley, where he specialized in civil business litigation. Following law school, Moskowitz was a law clerk to Judge Leonard Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Jersey. Moskowitz earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Rutgers University. He and his wife, Rita E. Barone, have two children and reside in San Diego. Stephen M. Orlofsky, 51, is a partner with the Cherry Hill law firm of Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley, where he has maintained an extensive federal practice since 1980. From 1976 to 1980, Orlofsky served as a Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and from 1974 to 1976 he was a law clerk to Chief Judge Mitchell H. Cohen of that court. In addition, Orlofsky served as a Captain in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1970. He earned a B.A. degree from the City College of New York and a J.D. degree from Rutgers University. Orlofsky and his wife, Charlotte Gaal, have three children and reside in Cherry Hill. William K. Sessions, III, 48, is an attorney with the Middlebury law firm of Sessions, Keiner, Dumont & Barnes, where he has maintained a criminal defense and state and federal civil practice since 1978. Previously, he served as a public defender in Addison County, as well as a professor at the University of Vermont Law School. Sessions earned a B.A. degree from Middlebury College and a J.D. degree from George Washington University. He and his wife, Abigail Procter, have three children and reside in Middlebury. Ortrie D. Smith, 49, is a partner with the Nevada, Missouri law firm of Ewing, Carter, Smith, Gosnell, Vickers & Hoberock, where he has practiced law since 1971. He was president of the Missouri Bar in 1991 and 1992, and has been active in various community service groups, serving as president of the Nevada Jaycees, the Vernon County Chamber of Commerce, and the Vernon County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Smith earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Missouri. He and his wife, Christine Wendel, have four children and reside in Nevada. Donald C. Pogue, 48, has served as a judge on the Connecticut Superior Court since 1994. From 1989 to 1994, Pogue served as Connecticut's Commissioner of Hospitals and Health Care. Previously, he was a senior partner with the Hartford firm of Kestell, Pogue & Gould, where he practiced labor and employment law. Pogue earned a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College, and M.A. and J.D. degrees from Yale University. He and his wife, Susan Bucknell, have two children and reside in West Hartford. -30 - 30 - 30-