[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 173 (Wednesday, December 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10988-S10990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JUDICIAL CONFIRMATIONS
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, at long last, the Senate is being allowed
to consider long-pending, consensus judicial nominations. This action
has been long overdue. President Obama has reached out and worked with
Senators from both sides of the aisle in selecting well-qualified
judicial nominees. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I have bent
over backwards to be fair to all sides. There has been consultation and
a thorough and fair process for evaluating nominations.
Scott M. Matheson is finally being confirmed to become a Federal
circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In
his 30-year legal career, he has been both a State and a Federal
prosecutor, worked in private practice, and served on the faculty of
the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, including 8
years as the school's dean. The Judiciary Committee unanimously
reported his nomination on June 10, more than 6 months ago. We did so
unanimously. The Republican Senators from Utah supported this
nomination. It has still taken more than 6 months to get a Senate vote.
Ten years ago, Mary Murguia became the first Latina to serve as a
Federal judge in Arizona when she was nominated by President Clinton to
serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. She will
now become the first Hispanic--and only the second woman--from Arizona
to serve on the Ninth Circuit. The Judiciary Committee unanimously
voted to report her nomination favorably more than 4 months ago. Judge
Murguia's nomination was supported by her home State Senators, both
Republicans. It has still taken more than 4 months to get a Senate
vote.
Kathleen M. O'Malley has for the last 16 years served as a Federal
judge in the Northern District of Ohio. When Judge O'Malley, a breast
cancer survivor, was appointed to that court in 1994, she was one of
the two youngest women on the Federal bench. She has been nominated to
serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The
Judiciary Committee unanimously reported her nomination to the Federal
Circuit in September, 3 months ago. The Committee received a letter of
support from Senator Voinovich, who urged an expeditious confirmation
process. It has still taken 3 months to get a Senate vote.
The Senate is finally being allowed to fill some of the vacancies on
the hard-pressed U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The
Judiciary Committee unanimously reported the nominations of Beryl
Howell and Robert Wilkins back in September. It has taken 3 months to
get Senate votes. The chief judge of the District Court for the
District of Columbia wrote the Senate some time ago urging prompt
action to fill the four vacancies that exist on that Court.
There was a time when having served for 10 years as a respected
member of the Judiciary Committee staff would lead to expeditious
consideration of a nomination. For example, when Kristi Lee Dubose of
Alabama, who had served on Senator Sessions' Judiciary Committee staff,
was nominated, her hearing was expedited despite the lack of an ABA
peer review, her nomination was reported by the committee within 2 days
of her hearing and that nomination was then confirmed promptly. Indeed,
the time Judge Dubose's questionnaire was received by the committee to
the date of her confirmation was 61 days, which includes a 3-week
recess period.
By contrast, Ms. Howell's nomination was delayed after her hearing
for 57 days before the committee was allowed to vote and has been
stalled for 89 days on the Senate Executive Calendar. Since her
questionnaire was received by the committee, it has been 160 days. This
is no reflection on Ms. Howell, whose credentials, work experience,
temperament, and qualifications are beyond reproach.
There are more than a dozen additional consensus judicial nominations
that have been through the entire process but are being denied a final
vote. I know of no precedent for this. Indeed, in the lameduck session
at the end of President Bush's second year in office, we proceeded to
report and confirm controversial circuit court nominees. That the
Senate is not being allowed to consider these consensus nominees is a
shame and an unnecessary burden on them and their families and for the
courts and people they would serve. It is a travesty that all of the
well-qualified nominees favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee
could not be confirmed before this Congress adjourns. That is what we
did when we confirmed 100 judicial nominees of President Bush in 2001
and 2002. All 100 of the nominees reported favorably by the Judiciary
Committee received Senate votes and were confirmed--all 100. They
include 20 during the lameduck session that year and circuit court
nominees reported after the election.
This year, consensus nominees are not being allowed to be considered.
These nominees include one unanimously reported circuit court nominee
and another circuit court nominee supported by 17 of the 19 Senators on
the Judiciary Committee.
President Obama has nominated James E. Graves to fill one of two
emergency vacancies on the Fifth Circuit. Currently, Justice Graves is
the only African American on the Mississippi Supreme Court. If
confirmed, he would be the second African American to sit on the Fifth
Circuit, the first from Mississippi. His nomination has the strong
support of both of his Republican home State Senators. The ABA Standing
Committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously rated him ``well
qualified'', its highest possible rating. The Judiciary Committee
reported him unanimously. Yet he is not being allowed a vote.
Susan Carney is nominated to fill one of 3 emergency vacancies on the
Second Circuit. After working for 17 years in private practice, she
served as associate general counsel of the Peace Corps, and she is
currently the deputy general counsel of Yale University. Ms. Carney's
nomination has the strong support of both of her home State Senators.
Her nomination was reported with the support of five of the seven
Republicans serving on the Judiciary Committee and by a vote of 17 to
2. She is not being allowed a vote.
There are 13 more district court nominees who were reported
unanimously by the Judiciary Committee that the Senate is not being
allowed to consider.
President Obama nominated Amy Totenberg to fill an emergency vacancy
on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in
March. Ms. Totenberg's nomination has the support of her two Republican
home state Senators. Currently a lawyer in private practice in Atlanta,
she also serves as a special master for the U.S. District Court for the
District of Maryland and as a court-appointed mediator for the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia. Previously, she was
general counsel to the Atlanta Board of Education and a part-time
municipal court judge. She earned the highest possible rating,
unanimously ``well qualified,'' from the ABA Standing Committee on the
Federal Judiciary. Her nomination was reported unanimously by the
Judiciary Committee.
James E. Boasberg was nominated to fill another of the vacancies on
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Since 2002, Judge
Boasberg has served as a judge on the Superior Court of the District of
Columbia, a position to which he was appointed by President George W.
Bush. Previously, Judge Boasberg was a Federal prosecutor and an
attorney in private practice. The ABA Standing Committee on the Federal
Judiciary rated him unanimously ``well qualified,'' its highest
possible rating, to become a Federal judge. His nomination was reported
unanimously by the Judiciary Committee.
Amy Berman Jackson was nominated to fill the other current vacancy on
the U.S. District Court for the District of
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Columbia. Ms. Jackson is currently a partner at the Washington, D.C.,
law firm Trout Cacheris.? Previously, she was a partner in Venable's
Washington, D.C., office, and she also served as a Federal prosecutor
in the District of Columbia. Ms. Jackson earned the highest possible
rating, unanimously ``well qualified,'' from the ABA Standing Committee
on the Federal Judiciary. Her nomination was reported unanimously by
the Judiciary Committee.
President Obama nominated James E. Shadid to fill an emergency
vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
Illinois, a court that currently has only one active judge. Judge
Shadid is currently a judge on the Tenth Judicial Circuit in Peoria
County, IL. Previously, he was a sole practitioner in Peoria, a part-
time commissioner on the Illinois Court of Claims, and a part-time
assistant public defender in the Peoria County Public Defender's
Office. When he was appointed to serve as a State judge, Judge Shadid
became the first Arab-American judge in Illinois. He will become the
only Federal Arab-American judge in the State and one of only
approximately four Arab-American Federal judges in the country. His
nomination was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee.
Sue E. Myerscough was also nominated to fill an emergency vacancy on
the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. She is
currently the presiding justice on the Fourth District Appellate Court
of Illinois, and she previously sat on the Seventh Judicial Circuit of
Illinois, first as associate judge and then as circuit judge. In all,
Justice Myerscough has more than 23 years of judicial experience. She
also serves as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of
Medical Humanities at the Southern Illinois University School of
Medicine. Justice Myerscough was first nominated to serve as a Federal
judge in 1995, but her nomination was returned to the President after
the Senate failed to act on it. Her nomination was reported unanimously
by the Judiciary Committee.
President Obama nominated Paul K. Holmes, III, to fill an emergency
vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Arkansas. Mr. Holmes is currently of counsel at the Fort Smith, AR, law
firm where he formerly worked for more than two decades as an associate
and a partner. Previously, he was the U.S. attorney for the Western
District of Arkansas. As U.S. attorney, Holmes served for 2 years on
the Attorney General's Advisory Committee. Mr. Holmes earned the
highest possible rating--unanimously ``well qualified''--from the ABA
Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and he has the strong
support of his two home State Senators. His nomination was reported
unanimously by the Judiciary Committee.
Anthony J. Battaglia was nominated to become a Federal judge on the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the court
he has served as a magistrate Judge for 17 years. He is a former
president of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association and of the San
Diego County Bar Association. Prior to taking the bench, Judge
Battaglia worked for nearly two decades as a civil litigator in private
practice. He has the strong support of both of his home State Senators,
and the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary gave him its
highest possible rating, unanimously ``well qualified.'' His nomination
was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee.
Judge Edward J. Davila was nominated to fill an emergency vacancy on
the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Currently a judge on the Superior Court of California, Judge Davila
previously spent 20 years as a trial lawyer, first as a deputy public
defender in the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office and then as
a lawyer in private practice. He also has taught trial advocacy course
sessions at Stanford Law School, Santa Clara University School of Law,
and the University of San Francisco School of Law. If confirmed, Judge
Davila will become the first Latino to take the Federal bench in the
Bay area in more than 15 years. He has the strong support of his two
home State Senators. His nomination was reported unanimously by the
Judiciary Committee.
President Obama nominated Diana Saldana to fill an emergency vacancy
in the Southern District of Texas, the district she has served as a
magistrate judge since 2006. Before taking the bench, Judge Saldana
served the Southern District for 5 years as a Federal prosecutor, and
she previously was a lawyer in private practice and a trial attorney in
the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The child
of migrant farm workers, Judge Saldana began working alongside her
family in the sugar beet fields at age 10, and she continued to do so
for more than a decade. After graduating from law school, she served as
a law clerk to then-Chief Judge George P. Kazen. If confirmed, Judge
Saldana will fill the vacancy created by Judge Kazen's retirement.
Judge Saldana earned the highest possible rating--unanimously ``well
qualified''--from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
She has the strong support of her two Republican home State Senators.
Senator Cornyn called her ``one of the toughest law enforcers in South
Texas,'' and Senator Hutchison added that Judge Saldana ``has some of
the finest qualities we expect in our judges.'' Her nomination was
reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee.
Max O. Cogburn was nominated to sit on the U.S. District Court for
the Western District of North Carolina, the district that he previously
served for 9 years as a magistrate judge and for 12 years as an
assistant U.S. attorney. Mr. Cogburn is currently a partner in the
Asheville, NC, law firm, Cogburn and Brazil, and he also serves as an
appointed member of the North Carolina Education Lottery Commission. In
addition to practicing law, Mr. Cogburn owns and maintains with his
siblings the Pisgah View Ranch, a dude ranch that has been in his
family for generations. Mr. Cogburn has the strong, bipartisan support
of his two home State Senators, a Republican and a Democrat. His
nomination was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee.
Marco A. Hernandez was nominated to fill an emergency vacancy on the
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. He has served as a
judge in Oregon's 20th Judicial District for the last 15 years, first
on the district court and now as a circuit court judge. Previously,
Judge Hernandez was a deputy district attorney in Washington County,
OR, and a lawyer for Oregon Legal Services. Judge Hernandez has the
strong support of his two home State Senators, and he has now been
nominated to this position by Presidents of both parties. If confirmed,
he will become the first Latino to serve as a Federal Judge in Oregon.
His nomination was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee. I
also note that Senator Sessions made quite a fuss that he was not
confirmed at the end of the Bush administration while Senator Sessions
proceeded to delay Committee consideration of his nomination and while
Republicans still refuse to allow it to be considered before
adjournment.
President Obama nominated Steve Jones to fill an emergency vacancy on
the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. For the
last 15 years, Judge Jones has been a superior court judge in the Tenth
Superior Court District of Georgia, and he currently serves that
district as the presiding judge on the Felony Drug Court as well.
Previously, he was a judge on the Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court
and an assistant district attorney for the Western Judicial Circuit.
Judge Jones was the first African American to serve the Western
Judicial Circuit as a superior court judge. He will be the only active
African-American judge on the Northern District of Georgia and one of
only two active African-American judges in the State. Judge Jones
earned the highest possible rating--unanimously ``well qualified''--
from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, and he has
the strong support of his two Republican home State Senators. His
nomination was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee.
Michael Simon was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the
District of Oregon. He is currently a partner at the law firm of
Perkins Coie LLP, where he serves as head of the litigation practice at
the Portland office. In that capacity, Mr. Simon has handled
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several high-profile first amendment cases on a pro-bono basis. Before
joining that firm, Mr. Simon was a trial attorney in the Antitrust
Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Simon has the strong
support of his two home State Senators. His nomination was reported by
the Committee with strong bipartisan support.
These consensus nominees are in addition to the other highly
qualified nominations on which the Senate has not been allowed to vote
for many months.
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