[Senate Hearing 112-316]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 112-316
NOMINATIONS OF RONALD D. MCCRAY, CORINNE A. BECKWITH, AND CATHARINE F.
EASTERLY
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HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
NOMINATIONS OF RONALD D. MCCRAY TO BE A MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL
RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD; CORINNE A. BECKWITH AND CATHARINE
F. EASTERLY TO BE ASSOCIATE JUDGES OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF
APPEALS
SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
__________
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_____
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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 RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska JERRY MORAN, Kansas
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Kristine V. Lam, Professional Staff Member
Christine K. West, Counsel, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management,
the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Nicholas A. Rossi, Minority Staff Director
Jennifer L. Tarr, Minority Counsel
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
Patricia R. Hogan, Publications Clerk
Laura W. Kilbride, Hearing Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Opening statement:
Page
Senator Akaka................................................ 1
Prepared statement:
Senator Akaka................................................ 13
WITNESSES
Friday, September 23, 2011
Ronald D. McCray to be a Member of the Federal Retirement Thrift
Investment Board............................................... 2
Corinne A. Beckwith to be an Associate Judge of the District of
Columbia Court of Appeals...................................... 8
Catharine F. Easterly to be an Associate Judge of the District of
Columbia Court of Appeals...................................... 9
Alphabetical List of Witnesses
Beckwith, Corinne A.:
Testimony.................................................... 8
Prepared statement........................................... 32
Biographical and financial information....................... 33
Easterly, Catharine F.:
Testimony.................................................... 9
Prepared statement........................................... 59
Biographical and financial information....................... 60
McCray, Ronald D.:
Testimony.................................................... 2
Prepared statement........................................... 14
Biographical and financial information....................... 16
Responses to pre-hearing questions for the Record............ 22
Letter from the Office of Government Ethics.................. 30
Responses to post-hearing questions for the Record........... 31
APPENDIX
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delegate of the District of Columbia,
statement for the Record....................................... 85
Paul Strauss, U.S. Shadow Senator for the District of Columbia,
statement for the Record....................................... 86
NOMINATIONS OF RONALD D. MCCRAY, CORINNE A. BECKWITH, AND CATHARINE F.
EASTERLY
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in
room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel K.
Akaka, presiding.
Present: Senator Akaka.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA
Senator Akaka. This hearing will come to order. Aloha and
welcome to everyone here.
Today, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs meets to consider the nomination of Ronald McCray to be
a member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
(FRTIB).
On the second panel, we will consider the nominations of
Corinne Beckwith and Catharine Easterly to be Associate Judges
of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board was
established in 1986 by legislation that modernized the Federal
retirement system and created the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP),
which is a retirement savings plan similar to a 401(k) plan for
the Federal employees and military service members.
Mr. McCray is well qualified to join this board. He has
over 20 years of experience in overseeing and monitoring
retirement systems for many large private sector companies and
universities, and currently, he is a member of the Board of
Directors for A.H. Belo Corporation, a Texas-based newspaper
company. In that role, he is responsible for the oversight of
the company's retirement and pension plans.
Mr. McCray, I want to congratulate you on your nomination.
I understand that you have some family and friends in
attendance and I want to give you the opportunity to introduce
them to the Committee.
Mr. McCray. Aloha, Senator.
Senator Akaka. Aloha.
Mr. McCray. Thank you very much.
I will introduce my family. From your left to right are my
Aunt Lucille, my mother, Vivian, my daughter Morgan, and my
sister Donna. To my left, my sister Jonnie, my cousin Jackie,
my cousin Don, my friend Andrea, and my best friend, Alfredo.
Senator Akaka. Terrific. Thank you very much again to your
family.
Mr. McCray. I should also add a former employee, Dick
Kimberly, is here.
Senator Akaka. I want to say hello to you all and welcome
to the Committee.
I just know by the number of people here that your family
and friends must be very proud of what you have accomplished.
Our nominee has filed responses to a biographical and
financial questionnaire and answered prehearing questions
submitted by the Committee.
So, without objection, this information will be made part
of the hearing record with the exception of the financial
information, which is on file and available for public
inspection at the Committee office.
Our Committee rules require that witnesses at nomination
hearings give their testimony under oath. So, I ask you, Mr.
McCray, to please rise and raise your right hand. Do you
solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give this
Committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you, God.
Mr. McCray. I do.
Senator Akaka. Thank you. Let it be noted for the record
that the witness answered in the affirmative.
Mr. McCray, please proceed with your statement.
TESTIMONY OF RONALD D. MCCRAY \1\ TO BE A MEMBER OF THE FEDERAL
RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD
Mr. McCray. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to
the Committee and its staff as well.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. McCray appears in the Appendix on
page 14.
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I am honored to be here before you today as a nominee to be
a member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. I
am also deeply grateful for President Obama's confidence in
nominating me for this position.
While several dear friends and family are here, many could
not attend because conflicts prevented them from attending, but
I know they are here in spirit.
My sisters and I lost our father when he had a fatal heart
attack when I was 5 years old. Today, coincidentally, would
have been his 76th birthday.
As a result of his untimely death, my mother raised four
children as a single mother in the public housing projects in
the Bronx, New York. Her example inspired each of my sisters
and me to obtain college and professional degrees. It is her
example and it is his memory that I honor today.
As you know, the FRTIB was established to provide guidance
and oversight for the Thrift Savings Plan. This plan is the
primary pension fund for Federal employees. I believe I was
nominated to be a member of the FRTIB due to my experience with
pension funds, boards of directors, and my professional
background and education. I have had oversight responsibility
for corporate and university investments, including pension
oversight for plans covering tens of thousands of employees,
the establishment of investment policies, the evaluation of
pension staff, investment performance, and outside investment
managers.
For most of my career, I worked as a senior executive and
lawyer for Kimberly-Clark Corporation, which has over 30,000
employees. During that time, I was responsible for, among other
things, pension plans holding more than $2 billion in assets.
As such, my responsibilities included oversight of investments,
setting investment policy, the staff responsible for those
investments and for hiring and evaluating outside investment
managers.
As chief administrative officer for Nike, Inc., from 2007-
2009, I had oversight responsibility for investment of the
company's more than $2 billion of cash assets.
As a corporate director, I have been serving as a member of
the Board of Directors for A.H. Belo Corp., a Dallas-based
newspaper organization, since 2010. In that role, I have
oversight responsibilities for the company's retirement and
pension plans covering over 2,000 employees.
I previously served from 2003 to 2006 as a member of the
Board of Directors for San Jose, California-based Knight
Ridder, Inc., then the second largest newspaper organization in
the Nation with a market capitalization of $6 billion and over
4,000 employees. In that role, I had oversight responsibilities
for that company's retirement plans.
In addition to corporate boards, I currently serve on the
Board of Trustees for Cornell University, the Visiting
Committee of Harvard Law School, and the Board of Directors of
the North Texas Chapter of the National Association of
Corporate Directors.
It is these roles with governing boards that have given me
experience with oversight and fiduciary responsibilities for
staff and investments; the need to reconcile the interests of
various stakeholders, such as stockholders, bondholders,
employees, communities, government, students, and faculty; and
the imperative of collegial decisionmaking required of
governing boards.
If confirmed, I will draw on this experience overseeing
pension funds as a corporate board member, corporate executive,
lawyer, and investor to help oversee and strengthen the TSP. I
would focus my energies on those matters required to keep the
TSP a well run part of the Federal Employees Retirement System;
such as cost, customer service, information technology,
reasonable investment options, as well as transparency.
Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with the
Members of the Committee and members of the Federal Retirement
Thrift Investment Board to ensure that the TSP continues its
important mission of providing for retirement for Federal
employees.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you
today. I would be happy to answer any questions.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr.
McCray.
I will begin with the standard questions that this
Committee asks of all nominees, and you have partially answered
one of them.
Is there anything 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?
Mr. McCray. Senator Akaka, I am not aware that there is
anything in my background that would present such a conflict.
As you may know, the Office of Government Ethics did point
out to me that investments that I held in MetLife bonds would
pose a potential conflict back in the spring and advised me
that I would need to divest of those bonds within 90 days of
any possible appointment. I sold those bonds last spring.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
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?
Mr. McCray. I do not.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
Finally, 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?
Mr. McCray. I do.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
Mr. McCray, you have a distinguished private-sector career,
but serving on a government retirement board would be a new
role for you.
As you know, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
is responsible for making investment and policy decisions that
affect millions of Federal employees and retirees.
Please discuss how your experience has prepared you to
serve on this board.
Mr. McCray. I would be happy to. I believe that my
experience with pension funds as I described earlier has given
me some insight into how defined contribution plans work.
I believe I am reasonably current on the best practices
from the standpoint of transparency, communication, investment
options, fiduciary standards that are required for defined
contribution plans.
I am keenly aware that most of my experience, of course, is
in the private sector, not the public sector. It is my
commitment to talk to current members of the board as well as
members of the staff, the Committee, and to consult with the
Employee Thrift Advisory Council (ETAC) to give myself a better
feel for the context in which the Thrift Savings Plan operates
as a public sector defined contribution plan.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
Mr. McCray, I am a strong advocate for improving financial
literacy, and I have organized hearings on the issue since the
year 2004.
Please give specific examples of the steps you will take as
a board member to increase participants' education about their
investment options.
Mr. McCray. Yes. There are a couple of things that I would
do toward the end of increasing investor participants'
financial literacy. The first thing I might do would be to get
a sense, by census or otherwise, as to what the current level
of financial literacy might be among the 4 million or so
participants. I do not have a feel for that today.
Again, I would consult with the various stakeholders as a
matter of gaining that insight. To the extent there is
information that helps give a baseline understanding, I would
be happy to see that. To the extent that information is dated,
I might suggest that it be updated.
As I look at the census data, Senator, I would try to
understand what opportunities there might be to enhance
financial literacy for participants.
I believe and agree with you that financial literacy is the
secret sauce that makes the defined contribution plan work.
To the extent that participants are better versed in terms
of their retirement plans, financial options, and so forth, the
pension plan will serve its purpose.
I would look also at technology to see what technology
solutions might be available to give participants ease of
access to information about the plan. You can think of
webinars, for instance, in which you might offer instruction to
employees to increase their financial literacy. Of course, you
can think about emails, or you might think about in-person
consultations, those kinds of things.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
Mr. McCray, as you noted in a number of your answers to
this Committee's questionnaire, you are not familiar with many
of the administrative aspects of the Thrift Savings Plan. If
confirmed, how would you familiarize yourself with the TSP's
administrative practices and policies?
Mr. McCray. It is my practice--a discipline when I take on
any new role--although I may have a point of view, to take a
survey of the land, and in consultation with the ETAC, the
staff, perhaps employees of the Committee, to mine those
conversations to increase my understanding about the
administrative polices and practices of the TSP.
Senator Akaka. As you know, these are challenging economic
times. Many participants in defined contribution plans have
seen a decrease in their portfolios, creating uncertainty for
those who are close to retirement.
What steps would you take to make sure that the TSP is
producing optimal returns for its investors?
Mr. McCray. To ensure that the TSP is producing optimal
returns, I think you start with, as we talked about earlier,
participant education.
Assuming that you can put participant education at an
appropriate level, I think the next question becomes what are
the tools that are available for the participants to use their
education toward their retirement objectives.
I think it is fairly common practice in financial planning
for retirement and otherwise to develop a plan, and I think
part of the literacy education would be to help participants
develop a plan for their retirement and know that should they
adhere to that plan, more likely than not they will be fine.
In that case, the tumult in the markets to which you
referred a second ago, although it will be felt by
participants, I think will be less traumatic to participants as
long as they understand the plan on which they are pursuing
their retirement objectives.
Senator Akaka. Mr. McCray, employee participation in any
retirement savings plan is sometimes a challenge, especially
among younger employees.
In 2009, Congress passed language to automatically enroll
employees in the TSP as well as provide immediate agency
matching contributions.
How will you build on Congress' efforts to increase
employee participation?
Mr. McCray. First of all, I would applaud Congress' efforts
to increase employee participation. I would say, as a back
drop, that as our Nation requires employees to take on more
responsibility for their own retirement, it is imperative for
employers such as the government to help those employees, I
think, as somewhat of an ethical, moral matter.
To that end, I would try to understand, Senator, the
reasons that those who are not anticipating are not
participating and try to tailor communications in substance and
form that might entice those people to participate more fully.
Senator Akaka. This is my final question to you, Mr.
McCray. What are your top three priorities if you are confirmed
as a board member?
Mr. McCray. At this time, my top three priorities are,
first, to maintain the low-cost reputation of the TSP. A second
priority would be to assure that the participants have
available to them reasonable investment options, and a third
priority would be to assure that we have the technology in
place to support all of that because all of that gets tied
together by technology.
I would add that those are my priorities based on the study
that I have done to date, and I would hope to refine those,
should I be confirmed, in consultation with my fellow board
members and other stakeholders, such as Congress.
Senator Akaka. I want to thank you very much for your
responses to my questions. I want to wish you and your family
well in this endeavor; and without question, your background
certainly is helpful in this particular position.
So again, I want to thank you so much for being here. We
will move forward in the confirmation process here in the
Committee and in the Senate.
Thank you and your family very much. We certainly honor
your Dad, too, and I know he has made a huge difference despite
his absence, but your mother should be given a medal for
bringing you folks up.
Mr. McCray. I agree. Thank you so much, Senator. Thank you
for your time.
Senator Akaka. Thank you, all of you.
So, let me call up the second panel. I want to welcome
everyone to the second part of today's proceedings as we
consider the nominations of Corinne Beckwith and Catharine
Easterly to be Associate Judges of the District of Columbia
Court of Appeals.
We consistently receive excellent D.C. court candidates
nominated by the President from those recommended by the
nonpartisan Judicial Nomination Commission. I am confident
that, if confirmed, these nominees will join others who have
appeared before us in making valuable contributions to the
District.
Both of our nominees have strong legal backgrounds and have
devoted much of their careers to public service. Ms. Beckwith
is currently a supervising attorney in the Appellate Division
of the D.C. Public Defender Service (PDS).
Before that, she was an attorney with the Michigan State
Appellate Defender Office, and she clerked for the U.S. Supreme
Court and Federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Ms. Easterly has been with the Special Litigation Division
of the D.C. Public Defender Service since 2003 and was a State
appellate defender as well as a civil litigator before that.
I believe these nominees have much to offer to the D.C.
Court of Appeals, and I hope we can act quickly to confirm
them.
I understand you both have loved ones here with you today,
and I would like to give you an opportunity to introduce them
to the Committee at this time.
Ms. Beckwith, would you please introduce your family and
guests.
Ms. Beckwith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have with me my husband, Brent Futrell, my brother, Aaron
Beckwith, and a lot of family watching from Michigan, and many
colleagues from the Public Defender Service are also here.
Thank you.
Senator Akaka. Thank you. Ms. Easterly, will you please
introduce your family and guests.
Ms. Easterly. Thank you, Senator. I have with me my
husband, Aaron Zebley; my two daughters, Clara and Daphne; my
parents, Harry and Patsy Easterly; my sister, Rachel; and my
younger brother Noah and his wife, Carly. My older brother was
not able to make it. My technology-savvy grandmother, however,
is watching online.
Senator Akaka. Thank you so much to all of you for being
here to give the nominees support. We really appreciate seeing
that as well. I am sure your loved ones are proud of you and
your accomplishments and look forward to this new chapter in
your lives.
Each nominee has filed responses to a biographical and
financial questionnaire submitted by the Committee. Without
objection, this information will be made a part of the hearing
record with the exception of financial data, which will be kept
on file and made available for public inspection in the
Committee office.
Our Committee rules require that all witnesses at
nomination hearings give their testimony under oath. So, I ask
you to please stand and raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to
give this Committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you, God?
Ms. Beckwith. I do.
Ms. Easterly. I do.
Senator Akaka. Thank you. Please note for the record that
the witnesses answered in the affirmative.
Ms. Beckwith, will you please proceed with your statement.
TESTIMONY OF CORINNE A. BECKWITH \1\ TO BE AN ASSOCIATE JUDGE
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS
Ms. Beckwith. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I am greatly honored
to appear before you today as you consider my nomination to be
an Associate Judge on the District of Columbia Court of
Appeals. I am thankful to the Judicial Nomination Commission
for selecting me and to President Barack Obama for nominating
me. I would also like to thank you, Mr. Chairman, and this
Committee for holding this hearing and the Committee staff for
all of the work that goes into making these hearings possible.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Beckwith appears in the Appendix
on page 31.
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At the outset, I would like to acknowledge and thank my
family and friends who are here and who are watching from home
or from their offices. You have met my husband, Brent Futrell,
and my brother, Aaron Beckwith, who are both here with me
today. And watching from Michigan are my mother, Alice
Beckwith; my father and stepmother, Larry and Nancy Beckwith;
my three other brothers, David, Joe, and Adam Beckwith; my
sister-in-law, Chrissy Beckwith; my nieces, Rachel and Sophia
Beckwith; and a slew of beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins who
have encouraged and tolerated me over the years. I also feel
lucky to have so many friends and colleagues here today.
I grew up in a working class family in Michigan, and I was
the first in my family to go to college. I pursued a career as
a reporter at a small-town newspaper before changing course and
attending law school at the University of Michigan. After
clerking for two exceptional judges--Judge Richard Cudahy on
the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and Justice John Paul Stevens at
the U.S. Supreme Court--I began my legal career as a public
defender in Detroit, handling a huge caseload of the criminal
appeals of people who could not afford to hire a lawyer.
A few years later, I returned here to the District of
Columbia to join the Appellate Division of the Public Defender
Service, and for the past 12 years, I have practiced almost
exclusively in the D.C. Court of Appeals, again representing
indigent people facing serious criminal charges.
Particularly given the high level of practice in that
court, serving the D.C. community in this way has been beyond
gratifying, and it is my commitment to public service that now
motivates me to seek appointment to the D.C. Court of Appeals--
the court where I learned so much of what I know about the law
and good lawyering.
Because I have filed so many briefs and argued so many
cases in the D.C. Court of Appeals, and because I have so much
respect for the talented and thoughtful judges on that court,
it is an extraordinary honor to be nominated for a position
among those judges, and I am truly humbled by it.
Thank you, again, Mr. Chairman, for considering my
nomination. I welcome your questions and will do my best to
answer them.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Ms. Beckwith.
Ms. Easterly, please proceed with your statement.
TESTIMONY OF CATHARINE F. EASTERLY \1\ TO BE AN ASSOCIATE JUDGE
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS
Ms. Easterly. Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for the
opportunity to appear before you today as a nominee to be an
Associate Judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. I
want to thank President Barack Obama and the District of
Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, in particular, its
chair, the Hon. Emmet G. Sullivan, for this honor.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Easterly appears in the Appendix
on page 58.
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I also want to thank the Committee and your staff for
considering my nomination so expeditiously at a time when there
are many pressing matters demanding your attention.
You have met my family. I am grateful for their presence
here and all the opportunities that they have given me that
have led me here today. A number of friends, colleagues, and
mentors are also here. Suffice it to say, I would not be here
without their support and guidance.
Throughout my career, my abiding interest has been to work
to promote fairness of process in our justice system,
particularly for those least able to advocate for themselves.
After graduating from law school, I worked for almost 5 years
as an appellate public defender in New York City. I then moved
to a law firm where I focused on civil litigation. In 2003, I
joined the Special Litigation Division of the Public Defender
Service for the District of Columbia. At PDS, I have had the
unparalleled opportunity to apply my skills as an appellate
defender and a civil litigator, and to identify and address
complex, recurring issues that affect the fairness and
efficiency of the District's criminal justice system.
Putting the sum of my experiences here to use as a judge on
the Court of Appeals, in service of the District of Columbia
community, would be an honor and a privilege. Thank you for
considering my nomination. I look forward to answering your
questions.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much for your statement, Ms.
Easterly. I will begin with the standard questions this
Committee asks of all nominees, and I would like you both to
answer each question.
Is there anything 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. Beckwith. No, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Easterly. 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. Beckwith. No, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Easterly. 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. Beckwith. Yes, sir.
Ms. Easterly. I do, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much.
I see that you both spent a number of years with the D.C.
Public Defender Service. I commend your decision to continue
public service by joining the D.C. judicial system. Please
elaborate on why you are seeking appointment to become an
Associate Judge at this point in your career.
Ms. Easterly, I would like you to answer first, followed by
Ms. Beckwith.
Ms. Easterly. I became a lawyer to do public service, and
the bulk of my career has been focused on fairness of process
issues, and that is what an appellate judge does. She serves
the community by taking a step back to see if the law and the
rules were followed and fairly applied, and I can think of no
better way to continue my public service and to pursue my
interest in fairness of process issues than by serving on the
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Senator Akaka. Ms. Beckwith.
Ms. Beckwith. Thank you. I have seen the judges of this
court in action over the years, and I think that the work they
do and the work of the court is extremely important. I have a
great deal of respect not only for the judges of the court, but
for the court as an institution; and while I truly love my job
as a criminal appellate lawyer, I am interested in playing a
broader role in serving my community. I am also interested in
having the opportunity to address a wider range of legal
issues, something I enjoyed very much as a law clerk and
something that I miss.
Finally, I think that this position is a remarkably good
fit for my skills and for my experience, and I think it is a
very natural next step in my career should I be fortunate
enough to be confirmed. Thank you.
Senator Akaka. Ms. Beckwith, a judge is often challenged to
rule on complex issues both quickly and correctly. Please
describe how your experience qualifies you to confront this
challenge.
Ms. Beckwith. Well, I have a great deal of experience as a
public defender handling very large caseloads. So, I have spent
years having to kind of develop a comfort level with producing
quality work under pressure. That is definitely something I
have done throughout my career, and I think it takes hard work.
It takes smart priorities. It takes efficiency and a sense of
balance and perspective, but I think that my experience has
definitely qualified me to do that.
Senator Akaka. Ms. Easterly, the role of a judge is very
different from the role of an advocate and will be new to you.
Please discuss how you will transition to the role of an
impartial decisionmaker.
Ms. Easterly. I think the critical first step is to
recognize that it is a very different job. I have been an
advocate, taking a side for my client, zealously representing
my client; and now, if I were confirmed, I would be assuming a
new role of being the impartial arbiter whose job it is to
completely familiarize herself with the record, to understand
the applicable law, to look at the parties' pleadings, but then
go beyond, if necessary, and come up with a well reasoned
opinion.
I do think that my experience as an advocate will assist me
in this regard because I think the best advocates are the ones
who can dispassionately look at their position and identify the
weaknesses in their own arguments and the strengths in others.
So, I think I can take those skills and, recognizing that I
am serving a different role, apply them as a judge.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
Ms. Beckwith, the Court of Appeals handles a heavy caseload
and needs hard-working individuals like you. Please describe
your management style, including the role you envision for law
clerks in your chamber.
Ms. Beckwith. I am not sure what my management style will
be as a judge, but I know that I am a very hard worker. I
actually enjoy working long hours and weekends, perhaps much to
my husband's dismay. So, I think hard work will be the focus if
I am fortunate enough to be confirmed.
There is a lot to learn. So, I think that it will be
important to consult with my colleagues and see how they have
set up their chambers, how they maximize efficiency. It is
definitely probably the greatest challenge in the Court of
Appeals, managing the very large docket and the need to produce
quality opinions very quickly and to manage that balance.
So, I think working hard is the number one thing.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
Let me follow up also with Ms. Easterly to respond to that
question. Please describe how you would manage your chamber and
delegate work.
Ms. Easterly. I agree with Ms. Beckwith. I think that
managing the workload for the Court of Appeals is the number
one challenge. I think the key, at least from speaking to the
judges who are currently on the court, is working hard but also
working smart and doing the triage that you need to do to
identify the cases that maybe really do not warrant much
consideration, identifying the cases that are easily resolved,
and then identifying the cases that really deserve some careful
consideration, additional time.
I have some experience doing that currently in my job where
I have attorneys coming to me, bringing me cases and asking me
to assist them, and I have to decide if this is something that
I am going to have to devote a lot of resources to or something
that I can assist them quickly with.
So, I think that is the key--working hard and working
smart.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much.
This is my final question, and it is for both of you.
During your years of practicing law, you have appeared before
many judges and no doubt learned a great deal from observing
them.
Describe some of the qualities you hope to emulate as a
judge and those you hope to avoid.
Ms. Beckwith, please answer first followed by Ms. Easterly.
Ms. Beckwith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I think the appropriate temperament of a judge includes the
qualities of evenhandedness and impartiality, patience,
humility, and respect not only for the law, but for the parties
who come before you.
I think most lawyers have encountered judges who earn the
respect and admiration of all the parties who come before them.
I think that is often due in part to, on the one hand, judges
who are very scholarly and thoughtful and take the cases very
seriously and everybody knows that by the way they are engaged
in court and, on the other hand, simply treating people well.
Those are the qualities that I would ascribe to and
obviously would hope not to fall into any arrogance or anything
not respecting the litigants who appear in the court.
Senator Akaka. Thank you. Ms. Easterly.
Ms. Easterly. Perhaps not surprisingly I agree with
everything Ms. Beckwith said. I would just add that I think
concretely one way to show respect for the parties who appear
before you is to know the record, to be completely familiar
with the facts, to have read the briefs carefully, and to give
them that respect of having read their work product and taking
it into consideration, and then to write a well-reasoned
opinion that fully explains the reasons for your decision
because someone is going to prevail and someone will not, and
they both deserve a well-reasoned opinion for why you reached
the outcome that you reached.
Senator Akaka. Thank you so much for your responses and for
your testimonies. There are no further questions at this time.
Members of this Committee may submit additional statements
or questions, which will be submitted to you in writing.
The hearing record will remain open until the close of
business on Monday, September 26.
I would also like to note that Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes
Norton and Paul Strauss submitted statements for the record in
support of the D.C. nominees.\1\ I just wanted the nominees to
know that.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Norton appears in the Appendix on
page 85.
\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Strauss appears in the Appendix
on page 86.
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May I see the hand of Paul Strauss? Thank you so much for
your participation.
It is my hope that this Committee and the Senate will be
able to act quickly on your nominations. Thank you very much
for being here. I thank your families, and I must say your
daughters really behaved well.
Ms. Easterly. They did a good job, did they not?
Senator Akaka. Thank you. Whatever noise they make is music
to my ears.
Thank you again, everyone. This hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:51 a.m., the Committee adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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