USA - California. Jeremy Fogel, the federal judge who halted California death penalty five years ago is leaving the bench to lead the Federal Judicial Center in Washington

Jeremy Fogel, the federal judge who halted California death penalty five years ago is leaving the bench to lead the Federal Judicial Center in Washington. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts announced the appointment of U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel. The center is the research and education arm of the U.S. judicial system. Fogel, 61, white, will be its 10th director when he starts the job in October. President Bill Clinton appointed Fogel to the federal bench in 1998 after he served as a Santa Clara County judge for 17 years. Executions have been on hold in California since 2006, when Fogel halted them because of concern about the state’s lethal injection procedures. The death penalty issue will now be assigned to another judge.