The Senate confirmed five former and current prosecutors for federal judgeships over the weekend, following the confirmation last Thursday of four other new judges. The recent actions break a logjam of nominees that Democrats had complained were being held up by Senate Republican objections.

In the action over the weekend:

• Raymond Joseph Lohier Jr. was confirmed as a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Lohier is the chief of the securities and commodities fraud task force in the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York. He has also served as deputy chief and chief of the office’s narcotics unit and deputy chief of the securities and commodities fraud task force during his 10 years at the office. Read more about him here.
• Carlton W. Reeves was confirmed as a U.S.  District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. Reeves worked in the district’s U.S. Attorney office from 1995 to 2001. He served as chief of the civil division and district election officer. Read more about him here.
• Edmond E-Min Chang was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. He has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the district since 1999. He has served as chief of appeals in the criminal division and deputy chief of the general crimes division. Read more about him here.
• Ellen Lipton Hollander was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for Maryland. She worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Baltimore from 1979 to 1983. Read more about her here.
• Denise Jefferson Casper was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for Massachusetts. She worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston from 1999 to 2005. Read more about her here.

Raymond Lohier (New York University)

Carlton W. Reeves (Pigott Reeves Johnston)

Ellen Lipton Hollander (gov)

Denise Casper (Boston Bar Association)

New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer is urging President Obama to nominate a key prosecutor in the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office for a seat on a federal appeals court, the senator’s office announced this week.

Raymond Lohier (New York University)

Schumer is recommending Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Lohier for the judgeship on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The vacancy was created by the elevation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

Lohier is the chief of the securities and commodities fraud task force in the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s office. He has also served as deputy chief and chief of the office’s narcotics unit and deputy chief of the securities and commodities fraud task force during his 10 years at the office.

“Raymond J. Lohier has had a long and distinguished career in public service serving the people of Brooklyn and all of New York,” Schumer said in a statement. “His outstanding leadership skills, his intellect, his commitment to justice, his deep connections to Brooklyn, and his extensive experience make him an exceptional choice for a position on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.”

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the story first here.

Preet Bharara (North American South Asian Bar Association )

New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara changed some of the leadership at the Southern District office, only days after he has sworn in as Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Reuters reported today.

Those getting promotions are:

• Boyd Johnson
  -New Post: Deputy U.S. Attorney
  -Previous Post: Chief of the office’s public corruption, international narcotics and trafficking units; oversaw the investigation of a prostitution ring used by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer
  -Joined office in: 1999

• Raymond Lohier
  -New post: Chief of the criminal division’s securities and commodities fraud task force
  -Previous post: Deputy chief of the criminal division’s securities and commodities fraud task force
  -Joined office in: 2000
• Miriam Rocah
  -New post: Chief of the criminal division’s organized crime unit
  -Previous post: Deputy chief of the criminal division’s organized crime unit and the narcotics unit
  -Joined office in: 2001
• Daniel Stein
  -New post: Chief of the criminal division’s public corruption unit
  -Previous post: Prosecutor in the criminal division’s public corruption unit and international narcotics trafficking unit
  -Joined office in: 2003

Bharara was sworn in as U.S. Attorney last Thursday. He succeeded Michael J. Garcia, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in December. Bharara was chief counsel to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff from 2005 to 2009. Before that, he spent five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District.