Ghislaine Maxwell judge to be recommended to Biden for promotion to higher court

The federal judge overseeing British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking case is set to be recommended for higher court - sparking concerns about possible ethical conflicts.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer announced on Tuesday he is going to recommend to President Joe Biden that he nominate Alison J. Nathan, 49,  to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The nomination almost guarantees that Nathan will be appointed to serve in the state's second highest court, the New York Times reports, as presidents typically defer to their party's senior lawmaker in each state when choosing its judges and attorneys.

If nominated, Nathan would have to be confirmed by the Senate.

But during the process, she will be able to remain on Maxwell's high-profile case - sparking fears she could be swayed into being less critical of Biden's government during the case.

Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University School of Law, said Maxwell's lawyers might ask the judge to recuse herself from the trial, claiming that the Biden administration would be in a position to derail her promotion if she did not favor the government in the trial.

But he admitted that a promotion like Nathan's would not provide a basis for such a request.

'This does not even come close to the sort of interest that leads to recusal,' he said.

He also noted that Nathan would be just the second openly gay woman to serve on the Second Circuit. 

Nathan is also known for her independence, the Times reports, and in at least two cases, she issued 'blistering criticism' of the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan, after it was accused of failing to turn over potentially favorable evidence to the defense before a trial. 

Nathan is a graduate of Cornell Law School and served as a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens in the Supreme Court's 2001 - 2002 term.

She later became an associate White House counsel, a special counsel to the solicitor general's office and a special assistant to former President Barack Obama.

In 2011, Obama appointed her to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

In his statement announcing his recommendation, Schumer said her 'experience, legal brilliance, love of the rule of law and perspective would be invaluable in ensuring the federal judiciary fulfills its obligation to ensure equal justice for all.'

Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School, meanwhile said the only theoretical issue she could foresee is if Nathan were confirmed quickly and her new duties pulled her away 'from a very time-consuming trial.

'But I think that's unlikely given the timeline here,' she noted.

When asked on Tuesday whether Nathan would stay on the case if she got the nomination, Edward Friedland, a spokesman for the district court, said he could 'neither confirm nor deny that she is under consideration.

'But I have every reason to believe that if she is recommended or nominated, she would - as is customary for lower court judges who are nominated to higher courts- continue to do her day job and preside over the trial to its conclusion.'

The announcement came as Nathan oversaw jury selection in Maxwell's trial, which defense and prosecution attorneys argue could last up to six weeks.

She questioned dozens of potential members of the jury who will decide her fate later this month in an effort to narrow down the potential jury pool to 50 to 60 members.

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