[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 154 (Friday, September 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9600-S9601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SENATE JUDICIAL CONFIRMATIONS IN COLORADO

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to thank the 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee for working with Senator Salazar 
and myself in getting two individuals finally confirmed by the Senate; 
that is, Phillip Brimmer and Christine Arguello to the District Court 
of Colorado. I know it was not an easy task that the chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee had before him. I know he had to buck some of the 
persistent rules of his committee, he had to buck a very tight timeline 
at the end and had to deal with some misunderstandings that further 
delayed their confirmation.
  I respect him highly for his good work as chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee. I respect him for the fact that he was able to keep his 
commitment to both myself and Senator Salazar on these two individuals. 
Senator Salazar and I worked hard to work out an agreement where we 
could fill at least two of the vacancies of the three existing 
vacancies on the District Court of Colorado.
  I also compliment my good friend and colleague Senator Salazar for 
being willing to work with me to meet the needs of this district court. 
When you have three vacancies on a district court, they are reaching 
the status of what we call emergency status. That means there is 
considerable more workload there because of the vacancies, and as a 
result of that it begins to impede their ability to deal with the cases 
that might come before that district court.
  I also state for the record that this is a court that deals with a 
very heavy workload and probably should have an additional seat on the 
bench there in this district court because of the heavy workload we 
have in the Colorado District Court.


                             Philip Brimmer

  I would like to take a moment to talk about the two fine individuals 
on whom Senator Salazar and I ended up agreeing--first of all, in 
regard to Mr. Brimmer.
  Mr. Brimmer is an outstanding lawyer. He is a graduate of Harvard and 
Yale Law School, institutions that provided him with tremendous 
analytical tools and an arsenal of knowledge which have served him well 
in his career.
  Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Brimmer spent 2 years clerking 
for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Thereafter, 
he joined a Denver law firm, where he spent 7 years in private practice 
before making a decision to devote his career to public service. This 
decision led Mr. Brimmer to the Denver District Attorney's Office, 
serving first as a deputy district

[[Page S9601]]

attorney and later promoted to chief deputy district attorney,
  Former District Attorney and current Governor of Colorado Bill Ritter 
wrote, ``throughout Mr. Brimmer's service at the Denver District 
Attorney's Office, he upheld the highest standards of integrity, 
fairness, honesty, hard work--and a dedication to public service.'' 
Governor Ritter felt he could trust Phil Brimmer with the most 
challenging cases that came through the office; Phil Brimmer did not 
disappoint.
  Current Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey recently wrote of 
his former colleague in a similar fashion. ``[Phil Brimmer] never 
failed to impress me both with his work ethic and his knowledge of the 
law . . . He was one of our most valued attorneys.'' The sentiments of 
Governor Ritter and District Attorney Morrissey are reflected in 
numerous other letters sent to my office from people who worked with 
Mr. Brimmer throughout the years.
  Similar to his experience as deputy district attorney, Mr. Brimmer 
has been exceptionally successful as Federal prosecutor. Almost 7 years 
ago, he joined the U.S. Attorney's Office as an assistant U.S. attorney 
and has worked on an assortment of criminal cases as chief of the major 
crimes section and now as chief of special prosecutions section.
  As chief of special prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. 
Brimmer handled very challenging and procedurally complex case, dealing 
with an assortment of crimes, including child exploitation, cyber 
crimes, capital crimes, and prison crimes. Attorney general of Colorado 
John Suthers hired Phil Brimmer in the fall of 2001, recognizing his 
``excellent work ethic'' and his ``tremendous intellectual 
capability''. It seems Mr. Brimmer continues to impress everyone he 
works beside as he continues to serve Colorado's legal community with 
great distinction.
  Anyone familiar with Philip Brimmer's professional credentials can 
attest to his intelligence and his talent. Anyone familiar with Philip 
Brimmer, as an individual, would certainly observe that he is 
respectful, loyal, and good-humored. His integrity, honesty and 
professional dedication to public service also contribute to making 
Philip Brimmer a ``rare find.''
  From my conversations with Mr. Brimmer, it is clear that he 
recognizes the proper role of the judiciary. His personal qualities and 
character, coupled with his professional experience, an ABA rating of 
``well qualified'', and outstanding bipartisan recommendations from 
within Colorado's legal community make Philip Brimmer ideally suited to 
service on the federal district court.


                           christine arguello

  I would also like to welcome Ms. Christine Arguello to the U.S. 
Senate.
  This is not my first endorsement of Ms. Arguello. In 1999, I made a 
recommendation to then President Clinton to nominate Ms. Arguello for a 
seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. This past 
January, I again offered her name to President Bush and urged he 
consider nominating Christine Arguello to fill a vacant judgeship on 
Colorado's Federal district court.
  I speak before the Senate today in support of the nomination of this 
fine lawyer for service on the Federal bench. In her more than 25 years 
of legal experience, she has worn many different hats. She has 
experience as a trial lawyer, in-house counsel, law professor, and 
public servant.
  She is a skilled attorney with impressive credentials and a diverse 
professional background.
  Ms. Arguello earned her undergraduate degree from the University of 
Colorado and her law degree from Harvard. She began her distinguished 
professional career working as an associate for a law firm. She moved 
to a public service career after 19 years of private practice when she 
joined the Colorado Attorney General's Office, where she served as the 
chief deputy attorney general under the former attorney general, and 
now my currently Senate colleague, Ken Salazar.
  In 2003, she returned to private practice as a civilian litigation 
attorney, and in 2006 she assumed her current job as managing senior 
associate counsel for the University of Colorado at Boulder.
  She has been described by many as a trailblazer. Ms. Arguello and the 
wide-ranging experiences and accomplishments she brings with her would 
make her a great asset to the Federal bench. In addition to being the 
first Hispanic from Colorado to be admitted to Harvard Law School and 
the first Hispanic to be promoted to partner at one of the ``big four'' 
law firms in Colorado, Ms. Arguello has added law professor to a long 
list of accomplishments.
  She became a tenured professor at the University of Kansas Law School 
and joined the faculty at the University of Colorado School of Law and 
the University of Denver College of Law as an adjunct professor and 
visiting professor, respectively.
  It is with a great deal of pleasure that I am able to see to 
conclusion the confirmation of Phil Brimmer and Christine Arguello to 
the District Court of Colorado.
  Again, I cannot say how thankful I am I have a good friend and 
colleague such as Senator Ken Salazar who is willing to work with me on 
issues that are facing the Colorado District Court and many other 
issues that are facing the State of Colorado.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland is recognized.

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