Appointments

• President Barack Obama has nominated Judges Albert Diaz and James Wynn to sit on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Diaz currently serves as a Special Superior Court Judge for Complex Business Cases, one of only three in the state of North Carolina. Diaz began his legal career in the United States Marine Corps Legal Services Support Section, where he served as a prosecutor, defense counsel and ultimately Chief Review Officer. Diaz also worked in the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General, where he served for four years as appellate government counsel handling criminal appeals. In 1995, Diaz left active duty in the Marine Corps and worked as an associate at Hunton & Williams with a primary focus on commercial litigation.

Wynn currently sits on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the state’s intermediate appellate court. Prior to taking the bench in 1990, he served as an appellate public defender and worked in private practice. He is a certified Military Trial Judge and a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He served on active duty in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps from 1979 to 1983. He has received the Meritorious Service Medal three times, the Navy Commendation Medal twice, the Naval Reserve Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Medal.

• John Gibbons has been nominated to become U.S. Marshal for Massachusetts. He currently serves as a lieutenant with the Massachusetts State Police in Boston. He joined the state police in 1979, eventually becoming a detective lieutenant.

• Robert Heun has been nominated to become U.S. Marshal for Alaska. Heun was chief of police in Anchorage until August 2009, when he retired after 26 years. Heun served in the United States Army from 1977-1982 after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977.