{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/senators-casey-toomey-announce-confirmation-of-joseph-leeson-to-pa-eastern-district-court", "Senators Casey, Toomey Announce Confirmation of Joseph Leeson to PA Eastern District Court", "2014-12-04", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Bob Casey", "C001070", "www.casey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) praised the Senate's confirmation of Joseph Leeson as a federal judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.\u00a0 Mr. Leeson was nominated by President Obama in June.\r\n\u201cI am pleased that the Senate has come together in a bipartisan fashion to confirm Joseph Leeson to the federal bench,\u201d said Senator Casey. \u201cJay Leeson is an outstanding lawyer with extensive experience and an excellent record. In addition to having a highly respected career in the practice of law, he has also demonstrated an abiding commitment to public service. I\u2019m confident he will serve the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with distinction.\u201d\r\n\"I am thrilled that Jay Leeson will soon join Judge James Knoll Gardner in Allentown as a district court judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,\" said Senator Toomey. \"For the first time, the Allentown courthouse will have two sitting federal district court judges. This is a great day for the city, and I am confident that Mr. Leeson will excel on the federal bench. I will continue working with Senator Casey to recommend well-qualified judges to serve the people of Pennsylvania.\"\r\nIn the last three and a half years, Senators Casey and Toomey have worked together, in a bipartisan fashion, to recommend to the President accomplished jurists\u00a0of high ability and integrity to preside in the federal courts of Pennsylvania.\u00a0 With Mr. Leeson, they have now confirmed 14 Pennsylvania district court judges to the federal bench.\u00a0\r\nJoseph Leeson\r\nJoseph Leeson has been a partner at Leeson & Leeson in Bethlehem since 1980.\u00a0 He was the Bethlehem City Solicitor from 1998 to 2004 and he served as a member of the Bethlehem City Council from 2004 to 2010.\u00a0 Born in Allentown, Mr. Leeson received his undergraduate degree from DeSales University and his law degree from Catholic University School of Law.\u00a0\r\n###\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\r\n\t\t\t\t\tJohn Rizzo (Casey) 202-228-6367 Steve Kelly (Toomey) 717-782-3951", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/senators-casey-toomey-announce-confirmation-of-joseph-leeson-to-pa-eastern-district-court"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.431893091648817, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}