[Senate Hearing 111-1050]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 111-1050
NOMINATION OF MARIA ELIZABETH RAFFINAN
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
NOMINATION OF MARIA ELIZABETH RAFFINAN TO BE AN ASSOCIATE JUDGE,
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
__________
SEPTEMBER 21, 2010
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
JON TESTER, Montana LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
ROLAND W. BURRIS, Illinois
EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kristine V. Lam, Professional Staff Member
Lisa M. Powell, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Brandon L. Milhorn, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Jennifer L. Tarr, Minority Counsel
Jennifer A. Hemingway, Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the
District of Columbia
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
Patricia R. Hogan, Publications Clerk and GPO Detailee
Laura W. Kilbride, Hearing Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Opening statements:
Page
Senator Akaka................................................ 1
Senator Voinovich............................................ 2
Prepared statements:
Senator Akaka................................................ 7
WITNESSES
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Delegate in Congress from the
District of Columbia........................................... 1
Maria Elizabeth Raffinan to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court
of the District of Columbia.................................... 3
Alphabetical List of Witnesses
Norton, Hon. Eleanor Holmes...................................... 1
Raffinan, Maria Elizabeth:
Testimony.................................................... 3
Prepared statement........................................... 8
Biographical and financial information....................... 9
Responses to post-hearing questions from Senator Coburn...... 25
Letter of support from Paul Strauss, U.S. Shadow Senator from
the District of Columbia................................... 26
NOMINATION OF MARIA ELIZABETH RAFFINAN
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Homeland Security and
Government Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:53 p.m., in
room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel K.
Akaka presiding.
Present: Senators Akaka and Voinovich.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA
Senator Akaka. This hearing will now come to order. Aloha
and welcome here today as this Committee considers the
nomination of Maribeth Raffinan to be an Associate Judge of the
District of Columbia Superior Court.
I am pleased that Ms. Raffinan is yet another well
qualified individual nominated by the President from a group of
candidates recommended to him by the non-partisan Judicial
Nomination Commission. I am confident that if confirmed, she
will join the others who have appeared before this Committee in
making valuable contributions to the District of Columbia.
I would now like to welcome Congresswoman Norton to the
Committee and yield for her introduction. Congresswoman Norton,
will you please proceed.
TESTIMONY OF HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, A DELEGATE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Ms. Norton. Thank you very much, Chairman Akaka, and may I
take this opportunity to thank you for your work on behalf of
the District of Columbia, and as my good friend Senator
Voinovich prepares to retire, may I thank him once again for
his wonderful work for our city.
Maria Raffinan is particularly well qualified, Mr.
Chairman, to serve on a trial court. In this case an Article I
Court, the D.C. Superior Court, because she has spent her
entire career litigating serious felony cases before the very
court for which she seeks confirmation. Indeed, she has done so
well, Mr. Chairman, that she has become a Supervising Attorney
of the Trial Division at the Public Defender Service for the
District of Columbia.
She has the endorsement not only of the President, but of
the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, which
is chaired by a Federal Judge who is here today, and among
whose members are two members of our bar and a representative
of the President of the United States.
Ms. Raffinan has trained lawyers and law students alike.
She co-chaired a training institute for criminal practitioners
in the District of Columbia. She is an Adjunct Professor at
Catholic University Law School. She received her undergraduate
degree from Boston College. Her law degree from Catholic
University Law School.
I strongly recommend Ms. Raffinan to you to be an Associate
Judge on the D.C. Superior Court.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Norton.
We appreciate your being here today to introduce our nominee to
be an Associate Judge, Ms. Raffinan.
Ms. Raffinan has devoted her entire legal career to public
service, and let me add, she currently is an attorney with the
D.C. Public Defender Service, where she has worked for 11 years
providing legal services to those who could not otherwise
afford such representation. I believe she has much to offer the
D.C. Superior Court bench, and I hope we can act quickly to
confirm her.
Senator Voinovich.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR VOINOVICH
Senator Voinovich. Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would like to
thank you for holding this hearing today on the nomination of
Ms. Raffinan to be an Associate Judge of the District of
Columbia Superior Court, and Congresswoman Norton, thank you
for being here. You have been very conscientious about coming
over and introducing people that the President has recommended
for these positions.
I would like to thank you, Ms. Raffinan, for being here
today and for your years of service to our judicial system as a
public defender. I am proud that someone who was born in Ohio
is such a dedicated public serviceperson, and thank you for
devoting yourself to our legal system, which I think is the
finest in the world.
In addition, I want to thank your family for being here,
and I want to assure your daughter that this is going to be
quick; do not worry about it. [Laughter.]
And you are qualified, and we are going to try to get you
confirmed as fast as possible.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Senator Voinovich, for
your very brief statement. I, too, want to welcome the family,
and we are certainly happy to have you join us here at this
hearing.
The nominee has filed responses to a biographical and
financial questionnaire submitted by the Committee. Without
objection, this information will be made part of the hearing
record with the exception of the financial data, which will be
kept on file and made available for public inspection in the
Committee's office.
Our Committee rules require that all witnesses at
nomination hearings give their testimony under oath. Therefore,
at this time, I ask you to please stand and raise your right
hand.
Do you swear that the testimony that you are about to give
this Committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help you, God?
Ms. Raffinan. I do.
Senator Akaka. Thank you. Please note for the record that
the witness answered in the affirmative.
Ms. Raffinan, I understand you have been working hard to
achieve this position, and we will have some questions for you.
I want to tell you that I am proud of you and your
accomplishments. So at this point in time, would you please
proceed with your statement.
TESTIMONY OF MARIA ELIZABETH RAFFINAN \1\ TO BE AN ASSOCIATE
JUDGE, SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Ms. Raffinan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Raffinan appears in the Appendix
on page 8.
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Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am grateful
for and honored by the opportunity to appear before you today
as a nominee to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of
the District of Columbia.
I would like to thank the Committee for considering my
nomination so expeditiously and for the courtesy that you and
your staff have shown me throughout this process. I would also
like to thank the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination
Commission for recommending me to the White House and President
Barack Obama for nominating me.
It is my privilege to introduce the members of my family
who are with me today: My husband, Efrem Levy; my daughter,
Leah Levy, who has been promised that she will get an
opportunity to make an opening statement if she is quiet
throughout the hearing; and my son, Jonah Levy, who is 14
months old, but his nap schedule conflicted with the scheduling
of this hearing so he could not be with us.
Also my father and mother are here, Jose and Maria
Raffinan. They have traveled here from Florida to be with me
today, and my father-in-law and my mother-in-law, Arthur and
Betty Levy, also flew in from Connecticut to support me.
I thank my family not only for being here today but for the
many years of support, encouragement, and guidance that they
have provided me. Additionally, I have a number of friends,
colleagues, and mentors here today, and others who are watching
on their computers, to whom I am forever grateful to for the
time, advice, and inspiration that they have given me
throughout my life.
I would also like to thank Chief Judge Lee Satterfield, who
came to the hearing today, and also Judge Emmet Sullivan, who
is the head of the Judicial Nomination Commission.
I have been a proud resident of the District of Columbia
for 18 years, since I arrived in 1992 to begin my law study at
the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn about the
law and about legal practice in a city and in a community where
there is such an abundance of opportunity to use legal training
and skills to help people.
During law school, I worked with victims of domestic
violence and pro se litigants in family court, and as a third
year law student, I represented indigent clients charged with
misdemeanor offenses in the D.C. Superior Court.
After law school, for approximately 3 years, I worked with
the Federal Public Defender's Office for the District of
Columbia where I learned invaluable lessons about public
service from both the appellate lawyers and the trial lawyers
in that office.
It is in my proud association with the Public Defender
Service of the District of Columbia for the last 11 years that
I grew up as a lawyer representing clients before the Superior
Court. The Public Defender Service has taught me much about
hard work, commitment to public service, and respect for every
human being. I started at the Public Defender Service (PDS) as
a Staff Attorney in 1999 and have served as a Supervising
Attorney since 2006.
If confirmed, I hope to carry with me to the bench the
values I have learned from my work at PDS about what it means
to be just and fair and to treat every human being with dignity
and respect.
I am humbled to be considered for a judgeship of the
Superior Court. I know that when my parents moved here and left
their families in the Philippines in 1967 to relocate to
Hillsboro, Ohio, a town with a population of about 6,000, they
never imagined that they would be sitting here with me as a
nominee before this Committee, in this Senate building, and in
this city. I feel very privileged and honored to be here.
Thank you for your time and your consideration of my
nomination, and I would be pleased to answer any questions that
the Committee may have for me.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Ms. Raffinan. I will
begin with the standard questions this Committee asks of all
nominees. I would like you to answer each of these questions.
Is there anything that you are aware of in your background
that might present a conflict of interest with the duties of
the office to which you have been nominated?
Ms. Raffinan. No, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Akaka. Do you know of anything, personal or
otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and
honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to
which you have been nominated?
Ms. Raffinan. No, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Akaka. Do you agree without reservation to respond
to any reasonable summons to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed?
Ms. Raffinan. Yes, I do.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much. Ms. Raffinan, you have
spent your entire legal career so far with the D.C. Public
Defender Service. Why did you seek appointment to become an
Associate Judge and what contributions do you hope to make if
you are confirmed?
Ms. Raffinan. Well, at the Public Defender Service, I found
that it was a very important calling in terms of public
service, and I had an opportunity there to serve much of the
community of the District of Columbia, but I felt that based on
the skills and the legal knowledge that I obtained at the
Public Defender Service and my commitment to hard work and to
public service, to serve as a judge in the D.C. Superior Court
would be one of the highest callings in this community to serve
as a public servant. I think the contributions that I would
make would be to continue this service and commitment to the
good work.
Senator Akaka. While your legal experience has focused on
criminal practice, the D.C. Superior Court handles many
different types of cases, and a judge may not know which docket
he or she will be assigned to. How will you prepare yourself to
handle the wide range of legal issues that you will confront?
Ms. Raffinan. Thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman. I
think that I would handle the different types of topics the way
that I have handled many different issues that have come up in
my practice, and that is, every day in my practice a new or
novel issue may come up, and when I am confronted or challenged
with that issue, I research the law, consider the facts, do the
work, consult my colleagues, and attempt to make a wise and
good decision about what needed to be done.
I think that I would do the same if I was approaching an
area of law or assigned to a division in which I did not
actually practice in that area of law, and that is, I would do
the research in that area, listen to the litigants before me,
apply the law to the facts, and make certain that I spoke with
my colleagues and consulted them on the issues and hope that I
would make a fair and just decision.
Senator Akaka. As you know from your years of trying
criminal cases, courtrooms can often be emotionally charged
places. Will you please explain how your experience has
prepared you to maintain a productive courtroom environment?
Ms. Raffinan. Well, I think that in the criminal defense
world, we are also faced with many chaotic issues that may
arise, and I think one very important attribute is to maintain
a good temperament, and I think in order to control a courtroom
and to control the surroundings, it is important first that a
judge be patient and be sympathetic with regard to the
litigants who are before him or her. I think one's demeanor is
important.
In addition to that, I think that it is important that as I
have seen with other judges I have been before, judges have
schedules that they work with so that the litigants before them
and the attorneys before them know what to expect. One will
schedule things appropriately and try to proceed efficiently
and justly.
Senator Akaka. Well, thank you very much for your
responses. Now, I will ask my good friend and Ranking Member,
Senator Voinovich, to ask his questions.
Ms. Raffinan. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Senator Voinovich. Senator Akaka has asked all the
questions that I would have asked you.
I think the one I am interested in getting your response to
is this: You have been defending people a long time, and I am
sure that during those experiences you, I suspect, had a
feeling for their plight, many of them, without money, and you
are in there doing the job.
How are you going to untangle that experience that you had
and to sit and kind of weigh both sides? I am not asking you to
forget about that experience, but you know, you have a
propensity, I would think, for the underdog, and now you are
going to have to deal with the prosecutors and the defendants.
Have you thought about that challenge that you are going to
have in terms of your experience that you had in the past?
Ms. Raffinan. Yes, I have, Senator Voinovich. And I think
the most important thing is that I understand as I transition,
if confirmed, that there is a difference between the role of an
advocate and the role of a judge, that as a judge it is my
responsibility and my duty to see that there are two sides to
the story and to the facts and to the law, and to make certain
that I am an impartial decision maker. I think that it is my
experience at the Public Defender Service, which is that I have
been faced with legal problems, I have discussed facts with
real people who have real issues, and I have been asked to
understand their issues, explain them to lawyers and to non-
lawyers, that will assist me in transitioning.
Senator Voinovich. Thank you.
Ms. Raffinan. Thank you.
Senator Voinovich. I have no other questions.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much. I know that you
volunteer to work with people who cannot afford legal
representation. How has your experience prepared you to make
sure that, if confirmed, everyone from seasoned attorneys to
pro se litigants feels that his case was heard and given fair
consideration?
Ms. Raffinan. I think that every case has to be decided on
its facts and the law, and I think it is important to be open-
minded, to listen to the litigants, and to do the research on
the law. Whatever background they may come from, it is
important to make sure that the litigants before you understand
that their judge has an open mind and an open perspective, and
I think it is with that attitude that I would approach any and
all of the individuals who would appear before me.
Senator Akaka. Well, I thank you very much for your
testimony. There are no further questions from us.
Senator Voinovich. I do not have any.
Senator Akaka. There may be additional questions for the
record, which will be submitted to you in writing. The hearing
record will remain open until the close of business tomorrow
for Members of the Committee to submit additional statements or
questions. It is my hope that this Committee and the Senate
will be able to act quickly on your nomination. Senator
Voinovich and I will certainly be urging that to happen.
So I want to thank you and your family for being here. I
want to thank you for your responses. I want to wish you well
in all that you do, and this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:17 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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