Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 11, 2019 President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees   Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate: Halil “Sul” Ozerden of Mississippi, to serve as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Sul Ozerden currently serves as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, where he has served since he was confirmed by the United States Senate and appointed by President George W. Bush in 2007.  Before taking the bench, Judge Ozerden was a partner and shareholder at Dukes, Dukes, Keating & Faneca, P.A. in Gulfport, Mississippi.  Upon graduation from law school, Judge Ozerden served as a law clerk to Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  Before entering law school, Judge Ozerden served as a flight officer in the United States Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant.  While in the Navy, Judge Ozerden earned the Navy Commendation Medal for missions flown over Iraq and Somalia.  Judge Ozerden earned his B.S., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Stanford Law Review. John F. Kness of Illinois, to serve as Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. John Kness is the General Counsel of the College of DuPage, where he oversees all legal matters at the second-largest institution of higher learning in the State of Illinois.  Prior to becoming General Counsel, Mr. Kness served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, with stints in the National Security and Cybercrimes, Narcotics, and General Crimes Sections.  Mr. Kness served as a law clerk to Judge William H. Pryor, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.  Mr. Kness earned his B.A. and J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University.  Mr. Kness also has experience in law enforcement, having served as a patrol officer for the Oak Park Police Department prior to law school. Eleni M. Roumel of Virginia, to serve as Judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Eleni Roumel currently serves as Deputy Counsel to the Vice President of the United States, a post she has held since stepping down as Assistant General Counsel to the United States House of Representatives in 2018.  Before embarking on a career of public service, she was a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, where her practice focused on class action and shareholder derivative litigation.  Ms. Roumel also served as an adjunct professor at Charleston School of Law, where she taught courses on Intellectual Property.  Upon graduation from law school, Ms. Roumel served as a law clerk to Judge William H. Pauley III of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  Ms. Roumel earned her B.A., cum laude, from Wake Forest University, her M.B.A. from Tulane University A.B. Freeman School of Business, and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Tulane Law School, where she served as Notes & Comments Editor for the Tulane Law Review.    ###