Another Judge Breyer tapped to serve on US Sentencing Commission

A helpful reader altered me to this official announcement from the White House reporting on nominations made yesterday by President Obama, which includes a notable nominee to the US Sentencing Commission: "Charles R. Breyer, of California, to be a Member of the United States Sentencing Commission for a term expiring October 31, 2015, vice Ruben Castillo, term expired."  This Wikipedia entry on Judge Breyer provides some background on some of the criminal law background of this nominee:

Born in San Francisco, California, Breyer received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1963 and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1966.  He was a law clerk to Oliver Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 1966 to 1967.  He was a Counsel, Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, California in 1967, and was then an assistant district attorney for the City & County of San Francisco, California from 1967 to 1973.

Breyer was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1974, and then entered private practice in San Francisco, California from 1974 to 1979 to 1997, interrupted by a brief stint as chief assistant district attorney of the City and County of San Francisco, California in 1979.

On July 24, 1997, Breyer was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated by D. Lowell Jensen. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 8, 1997, and received his commission on November 12, 1997 [and he assumed senior status on December 31, 2011]....

Breyer is the brother of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Students of federal sentencing know that Justice Stephen Breyer has had a hand in nearly ever major reform and development over the last 30 years, including a stint on the original USSC which write the first version of the federal sentencing guidelines.  It will be interesting to see if and how Judge Charles Breyer places his own imprint on federal sentencing reforms if and when he is confirmed to this position.

The USSC has been forced to operate with an open seat for well over a year now, seemingly only because the Obama Adminstration for some reason could not get around to making a nomination for a seat that has been open since 2010.  Though I do not expect swift action, especially in this election year, I sure hope that Senate will move quickly on this nomination and finally return the USSC to full strength ASAP.