[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 144 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S12601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CELEBRATING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
contributions of Hispanic Americans to New Mexico and our country. I 
would like to focus my remarks today particularly on the representation 
of Hispanic Americans in the Federal judiciary.
  Hispanics are currently dramatically underrepresented in our Nation's 
judiciary, making up only 3.8 percent of Federal judges while 
comprising 14 percent of our country's population. New Mexico leads the 
Nation with the highest Hispanic population percentage of any State, 
nearly 43 percent. As New Mexico's senior Senator, I am proud to have 
played a strong role in recommending Hispanic nominees for the Federal 
bench, and am even prouder that these recommendations have been 
accepted. Soon, three of the seven judges serving on U.S. District 
Court for the District of New Mexico will be Hispanic. Of the last five 
nominations made by President Bush to this court, all based on my 
recommendations, two were Hispanic women: Judge Christina Armijo, 
confirmed in November 2001, and Judith Herrera, nominated last month.
  Judge Armijo, formerly a judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals, 
brings a great deal of judicial experience and a history of public 
service to the Federal bench in New Mexico. A 1975 graduate of the UNM 
School of Law, she was an attorney and public defender before joining 
the Court of Appeals.
  Ms. Herrera, a distinguished attorney from Santa Fe, has experience 
in the public sector as a University of New Mexico regent from 1999 to 
2003, a Santa Fe City Councilor from 1981 to 1986, and as an assistant 
district attorney. She has been an attorney with the Herrera, Long, 
Pound & Komer firm in Santa Fe since 1987. She was a member of the New 
Mexico Economic Development Commission from 1998 to 2000, and is a 
current member of the Federal Magistrate Merit Selection Commission. 
She also served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Vincent 
Hospital from 1991 to 2000. I know that she will serve her country 
well, and that her appointment is a step in the right direction to 
ensure that New Mexico's Federal bench better reflects the composition 
of our population. I have great hope that the Senate Judiciary 
Committee and then the full Senate will confirm her expeditiously.
  While New Mexico's Federal courts present a stronger-than-average 
picture of Hispanic representation, there is another story with a more 
dismal ending in the case of Miguel Estrada, who if confirmed, would 
have been the first Hispanic judge on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. 
It was a sad day for our Federal judiciary and for Hispanic Americans 
when Mr. Estrada decided to withdraw his nomination after Senate 
Democrats prevented an up-or-down vote, despite seven attempts by 
Republican leadership to end debate. I am still outraged that a purely 
partisan filibuster prevented this well-qualified Hispanic American 
from serving his country on the Federal bench.
  At this time when we seek to honor Hispanic heritage, I invite my 
Senate colleagues to send the right message to all those who aspire to 
public service or seek to achieve their goals in this country: through 
hard work, honesty, and integrity, it is possible to overcome any 
barrier and succeed on your own merit. To me, this means giving 
qualified nominees a fair chance to succeed. I appreciate the qualified 
Hispanic Americans leading the way through their service on the Federal 
bench in New Mexico, and look forward to greater representation of 
Hispanics throughout the Federal judiciary.

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