[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10667-S10668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOMINATION OF ELLEN LIPTON HOLLANDER TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On pages S10667, December 18, 2010, the Record reads: . . . for
the Eastern District of Maryland.
The online Record has been corrected to read: . . . for the
District of Maryland.
========================= END NOTE =========================
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 2
minutes of debate on the Hollander nomination.
The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise today in support of
the confirmation of two judicial confirmations pending before the
Senate from my home State of Maryland. Both James Bredar and Ellen
Hollander have been nominated by the President to be U.S. district
judges for the District of Maryland.
I was pleased to work with our senior Senator, Ms. Mikulski, to
recommend these nominations to the President last year. I chaired their
confirmation hearing in May of this year before the Judiciary
Committee, on which I serve. These two judges were approved by a voice
vote in the Judiciary Committee in June.
Judge Ellen Hollander currently serves as a judge on the Maryland
Court of Special Appeals, Maryland's second highest court, which hears
mandatory appeals from our State trial courts in Maryland.
She has served as a judge on that court since 1994. Judge Hollander
comes to the Senate with an impressive amount of experience in Federal
and State court. She served as a Federal prosecutor in Maryland for 4
years, served as a State circuit court judge in Baltimore City for 5
years, and has served as a State appellate court judge for 16 years. As
a State trial court judge, she heard thousands of criminal and civil
cases--hundreds of which went to verdict or final judgment--and handled
both jury trials and bench trials. As an appellate judge, she has
authored over 1,000 opinions.
[[Page S10668]]
The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal
Judiciary evaluated Judge Hollander's nomination and rated her
unanimously ``well qualified,'' the highest possible rating.
Judge Hollander, really exemplifies the spirit of public service. She
is well known by lawyers and jurors alike in Maryland for her
meticulous reasoning process and well-crafted legal opinions. She
really is a model of a fair and impartial judge who will dispense equal
justice under the law. I know Judge Hollander has also supported
efforts to reduce recidivism and is a strong supporter of our drug
treatment courts and juvenile diversion programs.
Judge Jim Bredar also comes to the Senate with a wide range of
courtroom and litigation experience. He served as a Federal prosecutor
in Colorado for 4 years before coming to Maryland and serving as a
Federal public defender for 6 years. Since 1998, he has served as a
U.S. magistrate judge for U.S. District Court for the District of
Maryland, where he works closely with our judges of the U.S. District
Court for the District of Maryland. He conducts preliminary proceedings
in felony cases, all proceedings in petty offense cases, and all
proceedings in misdemeanor and civil matters upon the consent of the
parties. Judge Bredar has conducted over 700 mediation and settlement
conferences in civil cases.
Judge Bredar has been a member of the Maryland Bar since 1995. The
American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary
evaluated Judge Bredar's nomination and rated him unanimously ``well
qualified,'' the highest possible rating.
With Judge Bredar, I see a nominee who is genuinely concerned about
broadening the access to justice of Americans to their courts. He
believes that we can do better with both our criminal and civil justice
systems. I know of Judge's Bredar work as a mediator in our Federal
court's alternative dispute resolution program, which has received high
praise from Maryland lawyers and litigants alike.
The people of Maryland will be well served by having Judge Bredar and
Judge Hollander on the Federal bench in Baltimore. I look forward to
the Senate confirming these two outstanding nominations.
We are extremely pleased that we are now getting a chance to vote on
the confirmation of Judge Hollander to the Maryland District Court.
Senator Mikulski has taken the leadership in bringing forward the
nominations that we strongly support, the two of us.
I would yield the time to the senior Senator from Maryland.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that Senator
Cardin and I bring to the Senate Judge Ellen Hollander, an outstanding
woman who is currently a member of the Maryland Court of Special
Appeals; has been deemed qualified, very qualified by the Maryland Bar,
and every specialized bar in the State of Maryland.
She brings a sense of judicial temperament, great judicial
competence, and a commitment to impartial justice. She will be a great
addition to the Federal bench in Maryland and to the Federal bench of
the United States. She does not live in an ivory tower. Her work on
boards and commissions in the nonprofit areas shows a keen involvement
in civic affairs. I urge that we adopt the nomination of Judge
Hollander. I would hope that we could do it by voice.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we will now finally have a vote on the
nomination of Ellen L. Hollander to serve on the U.S. District Court
for the District of Maryland. Her nomination has been pending on the
Senate's Executive Calendar since the Judicial Committee reported it
unanimously on June 10, more than 6 months ago. Judge Hollander, a
well-respected Maryland State judge for the last 16 years, was
unanimously rated ``well qualified'' by the ABA Standing Committee on
the Federal Judiciary and has the strong support of both of her home
State Senators, Senator Mikulski and Senator Cardin.
After the confirmations today, 30 Federal circuit and district court
nominations favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee remain ready
for final vote. These include 21 nominations reported unanimously and
another 3 reported with strong bipartisan support and only a small
number of ``no'' votes. These 24 nominations should have been confirmed
within days of being reported.
In addition, 17 nominations ready for action on the Senate calendar
are to fill judicial emergency vacancies. With judicial vacancies at
historic highs, we should act on these nominations. We should do as we
did during President Bush's first 2 years in office, when the Senate
with a Democratic majority had up-or-down votes on all 100 judicial
nominations favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee. That
included controversial circuit court nominations reported during the
lameduck session in 2002. In contrast, during this first Congress of
President Obama's administration, the Senate has considered just 49 of
the 80 nominations reported by the Judiciary Committee.
I congratulate Judge Hollander and her family on her confirmation
today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nomination.
The bill clerk read the nomination of Ellen Lipton Hollander, of
Maryland, to be United States District Judge for the District of
Maryland.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On pages 10668, December 18, 2010, the Record reads: . . . for
the Eastern District of Maryland.
The online Record has been corrected to read: . . . for the
District of Maryland.
========================= END NOTE =========================
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and
consent to the nomination of Ellen Lipton Hollander, of Maryland, to be
U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Maryland.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays have been requested.
Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu)
and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) are necessarily
absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning), the Senator from New Hampshire (Mr.
Gregg), and the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kentucky (Mr.
Bunning) would have voted ``yea'' and the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch)
would have voted ``yea.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cardin). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 95, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 280 Ex.]
YEAS--95
Akaka
Alexander
Barrasso
Baucus
Bayh
Begich
Bennet
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Brownback
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Harkin
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson
Kerry
Kirk
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Lautenberg
Leahy
LeMieux
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--5
Bunning
Gregg
Hatch
Landrieu
Manchin
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motions to
reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table.
The President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
____________________