The Merck Lanham Act Name Spat Case Has Been Reassigned To A New Jersey Federal Judge: Hon. Jamel K. Semper

And so, the trial date could possibly be moved forward -- into late 2024, given the less-crowded calendar of USDC Judge Semper. He was only installed as a federal judge in December of 2023. [Judge Semper was nominated by President Biden.]

He is certainly capable of doing the job. And this, too (a trial date arriving on swift wings) may hasten a settlement in this potentially multi-billion dollar case.

. . .TEXT ORDER REASSIGNING CASE. Case reassigned to Judge Jamel K. Semper for all further proceedings. Judge Esther Salas no longer assigned to case. So Ordered by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 4/30/24. . . .

[Ed. note: Wikipedia has his CV down thus] ". . .Semper received a BA from Hampton in 2003 and was an honors student at Rutgers Law School in 2007. Upon passing the bar, Semper served as a law clerk for Judge Harold Fullilove of the Essex County Superior Court from 2007 to 2008. From 2008 to 2013 he served as an assistant prosecutor in the Union County Prosecutor's Office and from 2013 to 2018 he served as an assistant prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

From 2018 to 2023, he served as an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, where he served as deputy chief of the Office's Criminal Division. During his time as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Semper headed the Organized Crimes and Gangs section. In 2021, Semper was one of seven candidates under consideration to be the United States attorney for the District of New Jersey. . . ."

Now you know. And okay -- I cannot resist a lil' snark.

Call me crazy, but I do not imagine that Tangerine would have ever considered his name. This, even though he is clearly pro-law enforcement (a claim Tangerine always makes -- even as he himself commits a seemingly endless string of. . . felonies). Onward, grinning -- ear to ear.

नमस्ते