Senate confirms Susan Richard Nelson as federal judge in MN (Updated)

Federal Magistrate Susan Richard Nelson has been confirmed by the Senate to fill a vacant federal judgeship from Minnesota. Nelson, nominated by President Obama last year, will fill the spot created by U.S. Judge James Rosenbaum, who stepped down from the court after serving since 1985. Nelson, who has been a federal magistrate since 2000, saw her nomination tangled in Senate politics for over a year. According to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who recommended Nelson, the breakthrough came late Friday night when several judicial nominations, including Nelson's, were approved by unanimous consent. Nelson practiced law with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi before becoming a magistrate. She was a member of Mike Ciresi's legal team that that won the multi-billion-dollar tobacco settlement in 1998. Update -- Klobuchar released the following statement on Saturday: "Susan Nelson has the judicial temperament, personal integrity, and keen legal mind that are prerequisites for excellent judges... It is an honor to have Susan as our next federal judge – she knows the law, she knows the federal court, and she knows Minnesota."