Senate confirms Wayne County judge for U.S. court

DETROIT (AP) -- The U.S. Senate has confirmed Wayne County Circuit Judge Gershwin Drain to the federal bench in Detroit. The 55-41 largely party-line vote was held last Thursday. President Barack Obama nominated Drain in November to a seat on the U.S. District Court in Detroit. Obama has said Drain will be a "thoughtful and diligent judge" on the federal court. Drain has been a Wayne County circuit judge since 1997. Before that, he sat on the Detroit Recorders Court, which served the city until it was merged with the county circuit court. Drain was a judge at Detroit's 36th District Court in 1986-87. He's a graduate of Western Michigan University and the University of Michigan law school. He has worked as a federal public defender and as a lawyer for Detroit' s transportation department. Published: Mon, Aug 6, 2012