President Nominates Six To Serve On Board Of Directors
By law, SJI is supervised by a Board of Directors consisting of 11 members appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 10703, the President appoints 6 judges and 1 state court administrator from a list of candidates submitted to the President by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ). In addition, the President also appoints 4 public member positions, no more than 2 of whom can be from the same political party.
Recently, the President made the following nominations:
Chief Justice James Hannah – Currently serving as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He was first elected as an Associate Justice in 2000 and re-elected as Chief Justice in 2004 and 2008. Prior to serving on the Arkansas Supreme Court, he served as a Chancery/Probate Judge in the 17th Judicial District from 1979 to 1999. He has also served on the CCJ Board and is currently serving as Co-Chair of the Committee on Families and Courts. In addition, he sits on the U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Conference Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction.
Daniel Becker – Has served as State Court Administrator at the Administrative Office of the Courts for the State of Utah since 1995. In that capacity, he is responsible to the Utah Supreme Court and Utah Judicial Council for the administration of the state court system. From 1984 to 1995, Mr. Becker worked for the North Carolina AOC, serving in the positions of Deputy Director (1993-1995), Court Services Administrator (1986-1993) and Assistant to the Director (1984-1986). He also held the position of Trial Court Administrator for the 14th Judicial District of North Carolina, and Assistant Director of Operations for the Georgia AOC. Mr. Becker was the recipient of the 2006 Warren E. Burger Award for Excellence in Judicial Administration.
Gayle A. Nachtigal – Currently a Circuit Court Judge in Washington County, Oregon. She has been a judge since 1991, serving as Presiding Judge from 1996 to 2002. She is currently the Lead Judge on Criminal Court Assignments. Judge Nachtigal is also involved in the American Judges Association where she served as Secretary, First and Second Vice President, and President. From 1999 to 2005, Judge Nachtigal served on the board of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), and currently serves on NCSC’s Court Consulting Advisory Board.
John Nalbandian – Currently a partner in the Litigation Department of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. He concentrates on appellate and general litigation in state and federal courts and is a member of the firm's Appellate Practice. Mr. Nalbandian has represented clients in a wide range of legal areas including antitrust, products liability, intellectual property, employment, white collar crime, and class actions. He also has extensive experience in administrative and international law. Mr. Nalbandian is a member of the Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and District of Columbia Bars, and Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Kentucky Bar Associations.
Marsha J. Rabiteau – Currently a policy consultant with Rabiteau Consulting, where she works on a number of policy, legislative, and court rules issues. Previously, she served as Associate General Counsel and consultant on legal reform for Koch Industries, Inc. Prior to Koch, Ms. Rabiteau was Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Director of Civil Justice Policy for The Hartford Financial Services Group. From 1989 to 2001, she was Litigation Counsel and Crisis Manager for The Dow Chemical Company. She has participated as the chair or co-chair of the following organizations: Civil Justice Reform Group Operating Committee; Product Liability Advisory Council Foundation; IADC Class Action and Aggregated Torts Committee; and Federalist Society Litigation Practice Group. She is a member of the National Judicial College’s Advisory Council, and a member of the Michigan and Wisconsin Bars.
Hernán D. Vera – Currently the President & Chief Executive Officer of Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono, public interest law firm. He is the first Latino leader of the 40-year-old civil rights organization, which is based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Public Counsel in 2002, Mr. Vera was a commercial litigator with the international firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he specialized in class actions. Mr. Vera has also worked as an Education Staff Attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and clerked for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California. He makes frequent media appearances on issues relating to access to justice, civil rights, and consumer protection.
SJI will provide updates as these nominees progress through the Senate confirmation process.
