President Trump today announced nominations to the United States Sentencing Commission.

Judge William Pryor of the Eleventh Circuit, a current member and acting chairman, is nominated as chairman.

William Otis is nominated as a member of the commission.  He needs no introduction to readers of this blog, but I will copy an introduction anyway from the announcement:

Bill Otis serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Before joining the faculty at Georgetown, Mr. Otis served in the Federal Government for 29 years. Over this period, Mr. Otis served as Counselor to the Administrator of Drug Enforcement Administration during the George W. Bush presidency, as an Assistant United States Attorney and Chief of the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (under both Democrat and Republican Administrations), and as Special Counsel to President George H.W. Bush.

Also nominated are Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo, who was appointed to the Third Circuit by President Obama, and Judge Henry Hudson, who was appointed to the Eastern District of Virginia by President George H.W. Bush.

The Sentencing Commission statute requires a partisan balance with no more than four of the seven voting members being from the same political party.  At least three members must be federal judges.  See 28 U.S.C. § 991.

Our heartiest congratulations to Bill on his nomination.  He will be a sorely needed voice of good sense in an area where that is often lacking.