With Federal District Judge Jeremy Fogel taking off on a leave of absence, a new judge will take the helm of California’s long-running lawsuit over capital punishment. Fogel will leave his position, at least temporarily, to head up the Federal Judicial Center in Washington D.C. Judge Richard Seeborg, based in the district court branch in San Francisco, will take over the case
Fogel–previously best known as a brilliant technology patent law judge–has presided over the case since it began in 2006. In 29 years as a judge, Fogel has said the case is the most challenging he’s handled. “It brings all of your dimensions as a person into play,” he told the Recorder, a legal newspaper. From the emotions the issue provokes, to the politics, to the fact that there’s so little existing law to look to, there are challenges he said. “It’s very humbling to have that type of responsibility,” he told the paper.
