Two from S.E. Pa. nominated to federal bench

President Obama nominated a Democratic Philadelphia lawyer and a Republican Northampton County judge to the federal bench Thursday.

Gerald A. McHugh Jr. is a partner at Raynes McCarty, where he has worked on cases involving medical malpractice, workplace accidents, unsafe products, and civil rights.

McHugh was a fund-raiser for Obama's reelection campaign. "I have raised funds for both Democrats and Republicans when I deemed the individual candidate to be worthy of support," McHugh said this year.

Judge Edward G. Smith has presided over criminal and civil trials in Northampton County, whose seat is Easton, since 2002. He is a 27-year Navy veteran and has served tours as a military trial and appellate judge.

McHugh and Smith were recommended for seats on the federal judiciary by U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and Bob Casey (D., Pa.).

"The selection of two well-qualified candidates demonstrates the strength and effectiveness" of the senators' "bipartisan system for selecting judges," Toomey said.

Smith would work out of the Easton federal courthouse, which has not had a sitting federal judge since 2004, Toomey said.

Casey called McHugh "one of the preeminent lawyers in Pennsylvania," adding that McHugh has "a long and admirable record of civic and charitable work."

McHugh, who would work in Philadelphia, is president emeritus of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Inc., the umbrella organization for legal assistance to the poor throughout the state.

McHugh earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's University in 1976.