[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

[[Page S10989]]

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

[[Page S10990]]

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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